Brian Radnoff practices a wide range of commercial litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels. He has significant experience in securities and shareholder litigation, defamation litigation, professional liability, estate litigation, class actions, administrative law, competition litigation, employment litigation and insolvency and receiverships. He has handled large commercial disputes between significant companies, like Air Canada's corporate espionage litigation against WestJet, and smaller disputes involving individuals, like debt collection matters and property disputes. He has done jury trials. He has argued cases in the Ontario, Federal and BC courts, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.
He has acted for many different clients, including Canadian, US and European private and public companies, as well as individuals.
He is familiar with obtaining a wide-variety of pre-trial orders for clients, including injunctions and orders freezing assets (Mareva orders), often in urgent circumstances.
He has significant experience with electronic discovery and litigation technology.
Brian’s goal is always to find the most practical and cost-effective solution to his client's problems. Often, this involves trying to avoid the costs and uncertainty of litigation. However, he is always ready and willing to litigate and, if necessary, take matters to trial.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Toronto
M.A., Economics, 1994University of Toronto
B.Com, 1993University of Victoria
LL.B., 1997Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Lexpert Canada
- “Recommended Lawyer," Defamation and Media Litigation, 2019
- "Zenith Award" Recipient for Excellence &Thought Leadership in Defamation and Media Law, 2014
- Benchmark Canada
- Appellate Litigation, 2018
- Law Commission of Ontario's Defamation Law in the Internet Age Project
- Advisor, 2018
- Best Lawyers in Canada®
- Corporate and Commercial Litigation, 2015-2025
- Defamation and Media Law, 2016-2025
- Class Action Litigation, 2022
Prominent Assignments
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Assisted the owner of office buildings in a successful appeal to keep parking rates manageable.
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Retained by a company offering integrated systems of natural solutions to cultivate healthier and safer crops regarding a dispute about crop loss.
- Thrive Capital Management et al v. Michael Hyman et al, 2021 ONSC 482: Acted for the plaintiffs in a dispute over misappropriation of $9 million for a real estate investment, obtained a Mareva injunction and several other interlocutory orders, in a precedent setting decision was granted judgement as a result of the defendants’ contempt due to their breach of court orders.
- Foisey v. Green, 2019 ONSC 4989 (Div Ct): Successfully acted for the appellant to overturn a decision requiring an estate trustee to pass accounts, the estate trustee had obtained a release from a beneficiary who was subsequently put under a guardianship, this is now the leading decision in Ontario on the test to set aside a contract made within one year of a person being put under a guardianship.
- Broutzas v. Rouge Valley Health System: acted for a defendant in a privacy class action alleging $400 million in damages. The certification motion for the class action was dismissed.
- Coveley v. Thorsteinssons LLP: acted for lawyers in a negligence action. Summary judgment was granted dismissing the action because of the expiration of the limitation period.
- Sutton v. Balinsky: acted for a lawyer in a negligence action. Summary judgment was granted dismissing the action because of the expiration of the limitation period and because the action was an abuse of process.
- Astley v. Verdun: counsel for the plaintiff, a director of a chartered bank, in a defamation action against a shareholder activist. Obtained one of the largest defamation awards ever awarded in Canada.
- Air Canada v. WestJet: counsel for the plaintiff in one of the largest corporate espionage cases in Canada.
- Jazz v. Porter and Toronto Port Authority: counsel to one of the parties in a dispute regarding access to the Toronto Island Airport. This involved both a commercial dispute and a judicial review of the TPA's actions in effectively excluding Jazz from operating out of the airport.
- Zuckerman-Honickman Incorporated v. MPI Packaging Inc.: successfully obtained an interim injunction prohibiting the use of confidential information by a supplier attempting to communicate directly with our client's customers. In a related receivership proceeding, acted for the successful bidder in the leading case in Ontario on whether referential bids can be made in a fixed-bid selling process.
Professional Involvement
- The Advocates' Society
- Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society
- Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations
- Law Society of Ontario and British Columbia (non-practicing)
Community Involvement
- University of Toronto Faculty of Law
- Adjunct Faculty, Teaching Upper Year Moot Course, 2003-2021
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Author, "Commercial Lease Modifications: Why Oral Agreements Don’t Hold Up in Court," Dickinson Wright Cross-Border and Canadian Business Blog, September 2024
- Co-Author, "Bullying and Legal Ethics: A Warning from Singh v Braich," Dickinson Wright Cross-Border & Canadian Business blog, October 2023
- Co-Author, "A Bridge Too Far: Liability in Ontario for Intrusion Upon Seclusion Limited,” All Things Canada Blog, March 2023
- Co-Author, "Defamation Claim Against Premier Ford Slapped Down," Dickinson Wright All Things Canada Blog, December 2021
- Presenter and Chair, "Defamation Law: Trends and Developments," Law Society of Ontario, November 2021
- Co-Author, "Egregious Contempt Punished Severely," Dickinson Wright All Things Canada Blog, October 2021
- Co-author, Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario, 2021
- Co-author, “Discoverability and Fraudulent Misrepresentation,” Dickinson Wright All Things Canada blog, May 2021
- Brian Radnoff and Jacky Cheung, “New Test for Preservation of Property as Evidence During Litigation,” The Lawyer’s Daily, April 16, 2021
- Conference Chair, “Defamation at a Crossroads: Trends and Developments,” Law Society of Ontario, September 14, 2018, and co-presenter of “A ‘SLAPP’ in the Face to Defamation Plaintiffs”
- OBA Trusts and Estates Law Section CPD Presentation, October 5, 2017, Preventing, Correcting and Navigating Errors in Estate and Trust Documents, presentation “A Primer on Accountant Liability in Estate Planning”.
- Panelist, “Key Considerations: A Panel Discussion”, LSUC CPD: A Litigator’s Guide to Enduring Terms of Settlement and Releases, April 20th, 2017
- Advocates’ Society , Examining Experts CPD, April 5, 2017, Presented on Preparing, Qualifying and Leading Your Expert
- Conference Chair, “The Truth About Defamation: Current Issues & Recent Decisions”, Law Society of Ontario, January 18, 2016
- "Professionalism Issues when Advising the Privately Held Company", Law Society of Upper Canada Coursa, Practice Gems: Essentials of the Privately Held Company, September 29, 2015
- “Recent Developments In Defamation Law", The Advocates' Society 2014 Fall Convention, November 8, 2014
- "Class Actions: Settlement and Certification”, Fourth Annual Securities Symposium, The Advocates' Society, September 4, 2014
- Brian Radnoff and Amy Archer, "Defamation Law in an Electronic World", In the 2014 US (11th edition) and the 2014 Canadian (18th edition) Lexpert Guides to the Leading Canadian Lawyers
- "Critical Case Update: The Future of Class Actions by Indirect Purchasers”, Osgoode Hall Law School Conference, February 2014
- "False Labelling and Advertising Claims in the Food, Beverage and Natural Health Products Industry", Ontario Bar Association 5th Annual Class Action Colloquium, December 2, 2013
- Brian Radnoff, "SCC decisions may mean more consumer class actions”, AdvocateDaily.com, November 6, 2013
- "Privilege and Confidentiality in Privately Held Companies", Law Society of Upper Canada Program, Practice Gems: Essentials of the Privately Held Company, September 26, 2013
- Brian Radnoff, "Absolute Privilege is not absolute”, AdvocateDaily.com, June 13, 2013
- "Know When and By Whom Solicitor-Client Privilege Can be Waived”, Law Society of Upper Canada Program, Professionalism and Practice Management for Business Lawyers, June 4, 2013
- Brian Radnoff, “Judge finds activist in contempt of court order", AdvocateDaily.com, June 4, 2013
- Brian Radnoff, “Dip in securities class actions not a surprise,” AdvocateDaily.com, April 29, 2013
- “Advanced Contract Design and Contract Management Workshop,” Osgoode Hall Law School Conference, Advanced Legal and Practical Issues In Public Procurement, January 31, 2013
- "Where Should the Case Be Heard?”, Osgoode Hall Law School Program, Foreign Parties In Ontario Proceedings: Challenges and Solutions for Civil Litigators, May 29, 2012
- "Dealing with Costs", Law Society of Upper Canada Program, April 3, 2012
- “Professionalism and Practice Management for Business Lawyers,” Law Society of Upper Canada Conference, December 12, 2011
- "Discovery Plans: Making the Most of a New Tool”, Osgoode Hall Law School Conference, November 29, 2011
- Brian Radnoff, “Certification of Competition Class Actions”, Class Action Volume VII, No. 4, 2010, Federated Press
- Don Jack and Brian Radnoff, "Vertical Restrictions and Private Actions In North America: A Tale of Two Jurisdictions”, Northwind Professional Institute 2008 Competition Law & Policy Forum
- Brian Radnoff & Peter Weinstein, "The Role of Accountants In Litigation lnvolving Investment Advisors”, October 21, 2008 Investigative and Forensic Accounting (IFA) Conference
- "Case-Management Motions: Mastering the New System,” November 23, 2007, The Twelve Minute Civil Litigator, Law Society of Upper Canada
- Don Jack and Brian Radnoff, “Criminal Complications In Cross-Border Cartel Investigations: lmplications of Different Regimes," Corporate Liability, Vol. XII, No. 4, June, 2007
- “E-Discovery Lessons from Air Canada v. WestJet”, September 27, 2006, E-Discovery for Corporate Counsel, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association
- "The New Costs Regime”, July, 2006 Insight Conference for Law Clerks
- Brian Radnoff, "Sierra Club of Canada Decision", (2002) 11 (No.3) Environmental Law
Brian Radnoff & Kevin Wright, "The Whistleblower Amendments to the Competition Act", (1998) 4 Competition Law Journal 254 - David Cohen & Brian Radnoff, “Regulation, Takings, Compensation and the Environment: An Economic Perspective”, in the Wealth Forests: Markets, Regulation and Sustainable Forestry, ed. Chris Tollefson (U.B.C. Press, Vancouver: 1998)
- Ross EIlison, Richard Hamilton & Brian Radnoff, “Wallace v. United Grain Growers," CBA (BC Branch), Labour Law Section, December 11,1997