Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP

The firm: Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP is a litigation boutique with a broad range of expertise and experience. It is routinely involved in high profile cases: complex commercial litigation or class actions, professional discipline or labour disputes or public inquiries. The firm is trusted to manage the most sensitive legal issues facing businesses of every size, individuals, labour unions, professional regulatory bodies, academic institutions and public interest organizations.  Much of its work is referred from other law firms in Ontario, across Canada and internationally.

Main areas of practice
Appeals and Judicial Review: Paliare Roland has argued many important appellate cases including:

• Club Resorts Ltd v Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17 which established the test for an Ontario court taking jurisdiction over a foreign defendant
• Counsel to the Canadian Police Association Fraser v Ontario (Attorney-General), 2011 SCC 20, the leading charter decision on freedom of association and the process of collective bargaining

Bankruptcy and insolvency litigation: Paliare Roland acts regularly nationally and locally. The practice is independent of major financial institutions, permitting them to act as counsel to insolvency stakeholders, including court appointed officers, debtors, employee groups, unions, bondholders and governments.

• Acted for United Steel Workers Union. Was in a lead position regarding the restructuring of Stelco and its legacy liability pension obligations and other post-employment benefits including finding and sponsoring the ultimate Purchase of Stelco, Bedrock Industries.
• Counsel to the representative plaintiffs in Sino-Forest’s CCAA proceeding commenced in March 2012, in the Ontario class action against Sino-Forest Corporation and some of its current and former officers and directors, auditors and underwriters
• Counsel to the Canadian Federation of Pensioners at the Supreme Court of Canada in the appeal of Indalex Limited (Re), 2011 ONCA 265, which addressed the priority of pension funding obligations in a restructuring situation.

Class actions: Paliare Roland represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad spectrum of class actions. On the defence side, the firm has acted for major financial institutions, major manufacturers, pension funds, educational institutions and insurers.

• Class counsel in multiple actions alleging criminal interest charges (Markson v MBNA Canada Bank, 2007 ONCA 334), the leading decision on aggregate damages in Ontario.
• Class counsel to individuals who invested in an alleged charitable tax shelter opportunity sold through investor advisors. The claim was certified in 2012: Cannon v Funds for Canada Foundation, 2012 ONSC 399

Constitutional litigation: Paliare Roland has acted on many high profile constitutional cases and has long associations with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other public interest organizations like Friends of the Earth, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Métis National Council, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Human Rights Watch and various specialised legal aid clinics.

• Counsel to the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and individual litigants in Daniels v HMQ, 2014 CanL1168707 (SCC) seeking a declaration that the Federal Government is constitutionally responsible for approximately 600,000 Métis and Non-Status Indians, under s91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867
• Counsel to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in R v Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186 in which the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down substantially all of the Criminal Code provisions regulating prostitution in Canada.

Corporate commercial litigation: Paliare Roland represents publicly and privately on leading cases. The team acts for defendants and plaintiffs bringing versatility and unique insights. It has acted as counsel on class proceedings at all stages of proceeding (certification including all levels of appeal; mediations; examinations for discovery; completion of common issues trials) and on cases involving usurious interest rates, product liability, Competition Act violations, institutional abuse, auditor’s negligence, franchise disputes, cases involving foreign exchange charges, breach of trust, breach of contract, pensions issues, and others.

• Class counsel to credit card holders who alleged MBNA Canada Bank had received a criminal rate of interest in certain circumstances. The certification decision is one of the leading decisions on aggregate damages (Markson v MBNA Canada Bank, 2007 ONCA 334).
• Class counsel to individuals who invested in an alleged charitable tax shelter opportunity. Cannon v Funds for Canada Foundation, 2012 ONSC 399.

Employment: Paliare Roland provides advice and advocacy relating to all areas of the employment relationship for both employees and employers. Many of the important cases remain confidential.

Estates and trusts: Paliare Roland has acted on a number of high profile contested estates and trusts matters. It advocates on behalf of both trustees and beneficiaries in will challenges, dependant’s relief applications, capacity and guardianship disputes, and breach of trust matters. Their lawyers have argued leading cases on the right to contest probate, the existence of a trust by virtue of a government grant, misconduct by trustees and advisors, and removal of trust assets offshore. Importantly, it has also achieved settlements of significant and complicated disputes engaging family businesses, trusts and estates.

Judicial Inquiries and Inquests: Paliare Roland has been actively involved in the Province and the City’s inquiries in both capacities – as commission counsel and as counsel to a party with standing in the process. These include acting as counsel to the Hospital for Sick Children at the inquiry into baby deaths at the hospital; to the Durham Regional Police Association at the Guy Paul Morin Inquiry; to the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union at the Walkerton Inquiry; to the Ontario Provincial Police Association and its members at the Ipperwash Inquiry; to the City of Toronto at the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry and the Toronto External Contracts Inquiry; to the developer World Class Developments Ltd at the Mississauga Judicial Inquiry; and to the Honourable Mr Justice Herman J Wilton-Siegel who was appointed Commissioner of the City of Hamilton’s Red Hill Valley Inquiry in May 2019.

The lawyers at Paliare Roland have also acted as commission counsel to the MacKenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, the Alaska Highway Pipeline Inquiry, the Dionne Quintuplet Review, and most recently, the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario.

Libel and slander: Paliare Roland has expertise in all aspects of defamation law including litigation and litigation strategies, media strategies and prepublication review. Paliare Roland’s defamation practice includes representation of senior executives, politicians, corporations, athletes, educational institutions and others.

Product liability and tort claims: Paliare Roland acts for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving product failure, negligence and economic torts. While these sensitive issues generally result in settlement, the firm’s lawyers have argued leading cases on international jurisdiction and insurance coverage.

Professional discipline and regulation: Paliare Roland represents both regulators and a wide range of professionals in connection with complaints, investigations and discipline proceedings.

Securities litigation: Paliare Roland acts for both investors and issuers in litigation involving public disclosure issues providing assistance to investors, investment advisors and other registrants in proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association also representing investors in negligence claims against investment advisors and dealers.

• Counsel to a prominent lawyer accused of insider tipping and trading at the Ontario Securities Commission.
• Counsel to the Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights, an intervener, in the Reference re Securities Act, 2011 SCC 66 respecting the constitutionality of proposed federal securities legislation, and in CIBC v Green, 2014 ONCA 90 regarding securities class action limitation periods.
• Counsel to the minority common shareholders of Hollinger Inc before the Ontario Securities Commission in Re Hollinger Inc, (2005), 28 OSCB 3309