Blaney McMurtry LLP Barristers & Solicitors

Robert has practised civil litigation since his call to the Bar in 1978. Robert has assisted clients in the following areas of practice:

• commercial litigation
• government procurement and litigation
• class actions
• employment law
• environmental law

Commercial Litigation

Robert has represented a variety of clients in numerous commercial law issues including claims for damages, injunctions, Mareva injunctions and Anton Piller orders in product liability litigation and a wide variety of commercial relationships such as franchises and distributorship agreements.

In the National Post Robert recently commented on the use of expert evidence especially in the area of quantification of monetary claims for damages or restitution.

Government Procurement & Litigation

Robert is head of Blaneys’ government procurement and litigation practice group. This area of speciality is rare in the profession.

Robert was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Amertek et al. v Canadian Commercial Corporation et al.

In a much-publicized five-month trial, a small Canadian company, Amertek, together with its investors, sued the Federal Government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Corporation.  The case involved allegations of serious misconduct in contract procurement and performance on the part of the defendants in their dealings with both the plaintiffs and the U.S. government.

In a 200-page decision, the trial court found in favour of all plaintiffs, although the claims of some of them were reversed on appeal. Nevertheless, the claims that were not reversed amounted to approximately $7.4 million,  including $100,000 for punitive damages. That award makes Amertek, to our knowledge, the largest monetary judgment ever awarded against the Federal Government in the procurement area.

Although findings of fact and credibility were overturned by the Court of Appeal, the trial Judge's rulings on the law were essentially left intact. Amertek therefore remains a landmark
decision since Robert was successful in having the trial court:

1. apply the “waiver of tort” remedy in Canada for the first time in over 80 years. That has been followed in several high-profile class action cases such as Serhan v. Johnson & Johnson;

2. invoke, for the first time in Canada, the U.S. principle known as the “Doctrine of Superior Knowledge”, which requires governments to act in good faith and provide vital information to bidders with respect to their procurements; and

3. apply, for the first time against the Federal Government, the “Doctrine of Documents in Possession” in order to find that it had knowledge of the contents of aide-memoires in its own files.

Robert has advised and represented clients on bid protests under NAFTA and the WTO-AGP.

Robert also has represented clients in bidding on and negotiating government contracts.

Class Actions

Robert is counsel on a major class action against a federal crown corporation which was recently reported in the National Post.

Employment Law

Robert has represented both employers and employees in a wide variety of employment related issues including wrongful dismissal, human rights and disability claims.

Robert has also represented clients in cases involving the departure of senior employees, allegations of theft and misuse of trade secrets and confidential information.

Robert has been involved in negotiating and drafting employment agreements.

Environmental Law

Robert was lead counsel representing The Regional Municipality of Waterloo in the Elmira groundwater contamination crisis and assisted the Region in successfully negotiating agreements with Uniroyal Chemical and the Province of Ontario to ensure a safe and secure supply of drinking water for the residents of Elmira and St. Jacobs.

In addition, Robert was lead counsel representing an airline at Pearson International Airport when the Department of Transport and several airlines were charged with contaminating local waterways with the use of de-icing fluid. The charges were withdrawn.

Robert has been involved in contaminated land litigation and advised clients on a variety of environmental remediation and compliance issues and on director and officer liability and due diligence issues.

Robert also was successful in defending a client on charges under the Occupational Health & Safety Act where a worker was electrocuted on the client’s equipment.

Articles

Robert has written an article, “Precontractual Disclosure Obligation of Government: The Doctrine of Superior Knowledge and Beyond”, for a prominent legal journal. Robert spoke on government contract law at the conference in May 2003 of the Association of Canadian General Counsel and again in November 2003 about the Amertek case to the Ontario Bar Association. In 2005, he spoke at the Canadian Institute on “Gain Based Awards”.

Robert also co-wrote with Lisa Bolton an article entitled “Overview of Canadian Government Procurement Law” which was published by the American Bar Association in its November 2006 Public Contract Section newsletter The Procurement Lawyer. Robert is honoured that this is the first article on Canadian government procurement which has been published by the ABA.

Robert also co-wrote with Lisa Bolton an article entitled “When the Court Implies Terms Into Contracts” which was published in the December 2006 issue of Summit Magazine.

Robert has practised civil litigation since his call to the Bar in 1978. Robert has assisted clients in the following areas of practice:

• commercial litigation
• government procurement and litigation
• class actions
• employment law
• environmental law

Commercial Litigation

Robert has represented a variety of clients in numerous commercial law issues including claims for damages, injunctions, Mareva injunctions and Anton Piller orders in product liability litigation and a wide variety of commercial relationships such as franchises and distributorship agreements.

In the National Post Robert recently commented on the use of expert evidence especially in the area of quantification of monetary claims for damages or restitution.

Government Procurement & Litigation

Robert is head of Blaneys’ government procurement and litigation practice group. This area of speciality is rare in the profession.

Robert was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Amertek et al. v Canadian Commercial Corporation et al.

In a much-publicized five-month trial, a small Canadian company, Amertek, together with its investors, sued the Federal Government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Corporation.  The case involved allegations of serious misconduct in contract procurement and performance on the part of the defendants in their dealings with both the plaintiffs and the U.S. government.

In a 200-page decision, the trial court found in favour of all plaintiffs, although the claims of some of them were reversed on appeal. Nevertheless, the claims that were not reversed amounted to approximately $7.4 million,  including $100,000 for punitive damages. That award makes Amertek, to our knowledge, the largest monetary judgment ever awarded against the Federal Government in the procurement area.

Although findings of fact and credibility were overturned by the Court of Appeal, the trial Judge's rulings on the law were essentially left intact. Amertek therefore remains a landmark
decision since Robert was successful in having the trial court:

1. apply the “waiver of tort” remedy in Canada for the first time in over 80 years. That has been followed in several high-profile class action cases such as Serhan v. Johnson & Johnson;

2. invoke, for the first time in Canada, the U.S. principle known as the “Doctrine of Superior Knowledge”, which requires governments to act in good faith and provide vital information to bidders with respect to their procurements; and

3. apply, for the first time against the Federal Government, the “Doctrine of Documents in Possession” in order to find that it had knowledge of the contents of aide-memoires in its own files.

Robert has advised and represented clients on bid protests under NAFTA and the WTO-AGP.

Robert also has represented clients in bidding on and negotiating government contracts.

Class Actions

Robert is counsel on a major class action against a federal crown corporation which was recently reported in the National Post.

Employment Law

Robert has represented both employers and employees in a wide variety of employment related issues including wrongful dismissal, human rights and disability claims.

Robert has also represented clients in cases involving the departure of senior employees, allegations of theft and misuse of trade secrets and confidential information.

Robert has been involved in negotiating and drafting employment agreements.

Environmental Law

Robert was lead counsel representing The Regional Municipality of Waterloo in the Elmira groundwater contamination crisis and assisted the Region in successfully negotiating agreements with Uniroyal Chemical and the Province of Ontario to ensure a safe and secure supply of drinking water for the residents of Elmira and St. Jacobs.

In addition, Robert was lead counsel representing an airline at Pearson International Airport when the Department of Transport and several airlines were charged with contaminating local waterways with the use of de-icing fluid. The charges were withdrawn.

Robert has been involved in contaminated land litigation and advised clients on a variety of environmental remediation and compliance issues and on director and officer liability and due diligence issues.

Robert also was successful in defending a client on charges under the Occupational Health & Safety Act where a worker was electrocuted on the client’s equipment.

Articles

Robert has written an article, “Precontractual Disclosure Obligation of Government: The Doctrine of Superior Knowledge and Beyond”, for a prominent legal journal. Robert spoke on government contract law at the conference in May 2003 of the Association of Canadian General Counsel and again in November 2003 about the Amertek case to the Ontario Bar Association. In 2005, he spoke at the Canadian Institute on “Gain Based Awards”.

Robert also co-wrote with Lisa Bolton an article entitled “Overview of Canadian Government Procurement Law” which was published by the American Bar Association in its November 2006 Public Contract Section newsletter The Procurement Lawyer. Robert is honoured that this is the first article on Canadian government procurement which has been published by the ABA.

Robert also co-wrote with Lisa Bolton an article entitled “When the Court Implies Terms Into Contracts” which was published in the December 2006 issue of Summit Magazine.