David A. Crerar

Background

David is a partner at the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais. He practices in the area of civil and commercial litigation, with a focus on media law and defamation, shareholder disputes, protection of trade secrets, internet litigation, and banking and pension litigation. He frequently acts in and publishes on disputes concerning the internet and emerging electronic technologies. Mr. Crerar was called to the British Columbia Bar in December 1998. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Laws in 1997 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1991.

David serves as a Professor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, lecturing in civil procedure. He has published articles on banking law, class proceedings, media and defamation law, internet law, injunctions, and civil procedure. He serves as the Firm's National Contact for its Defamation and Media Practice Group. In 2012 Benchmark Litigation - The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Lawyers named him as a "Future Litigation Star", based on peer interviews.

Areas of Practice

· Commercial Litigation

· Banking and Pension Litigation

· Media Law and Defamation

· Shareholder Disputes

Representation Cases and Experience

· Counsel in first Canadian case arising from a pension plan conversion from defined benefit to defined contribution, brought by a class of 67 plaintiffs: Embley v. Tolko Industries Ltd. et al. (2010) 11 BCLR (5th) 371 (SC).

· Counsel in multi-million dollar litigation concerning fiduciary duties of directors defending a hostile take-over bid: Steele v. Riverside Forest Products Ltd. (2005) 17 CBR (5th) 165 (BCSC).

· Counsel in a leading case on judicial review of commercial arbitrations: Williston Navigation Inc. v. BCR Finav No. 3 (2007) 69 BCLR (4th) 187 (SC)

· Counsel in multi-jurisdictional hotel financing fraud claim for which Mareva freezing orders were obtained: Ruwenzori v. Walji (2004) 8 ETR (3d) 209 (BCSC).

· Counsel in leading Canadian constitutional law case on "navigation and shipping" and "public property": Burrardview Neighbourhood Association v. Vancouver Port Authority (2004) 237 DLR (4th) 466 (BCCA).

· Counsel in defending class proceedings, including class action for automobile delamination, in a leading case under the Trade Practice Act: Oshanek v. General Motors (2002) 2 BCLR (4th) 1 (CA).

· Counsel in commercial leasing disputes, including leading Canadian case on rent distress: Sun Life v. Dots (2000) 184 DLR (4th) 635 (BCCA).

· Counsel in prosecuting civil action in large animal cruelty case: BCSPCA v. Sudweeks, 2002 BCSC 1892.

· Protection of trade secrets and customers lists, including obtaining injunctions to enforce non-competition clauses and protecting customer lists against former employees joining a large US competitor: Sir 101 v. Farrell (19 December 2000) Vancouver S006407 (SC).

· Employee fraud issues, including successful defence of wrongful dismissal action brought by bank employee dismissed for defalcation: Fletcher v. Bank of Nova Scotia, 2000 BCSC 694.

· Counsel in corporate defamation actions, including prosecuting defamation action between Canada 's two largest laser-eye surgery corporations: Lasik v. TLC (1999) 37 CPC (4th) 380 (BCSC), prosecuting defamation claim by a large Canadian security company against a major health-care union: WestPac v. HEU (2000) Vancouver SC983484 (SC).

· Counsel in defending multi-million dollar product liability action brought by Crown Corporation.

· Counsel in several complex trademark disputes.

· Counsel in various actions involving joint ventures in real estate developments.

· Regularly advises plaintiffs and defendants on defamation issues.

· Successfully obtained and have had set aside Mareva freezing orders.

· Regularly represents and advises media organizations in applications for access to court exhibits and other freedom of press issues.

· Counsel in several shareholder disputes involving emerging technologies, and shareholder disputes concerning radio stations.

· Counsel in litigation following sale of transportation asset of a Crown corporation.

· Counsel in several shareholder disputes involving patent rights and emerging technologies.

· Appeared as counsel before the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and Provincial Court, before the Federal Court of Canada, in labour arbitrations, and the Trade Marks Opposition Board.

Professional and Community Activities

· Professor, Civil Litigation course, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law (2004 - 2011, and continuing)

· Board Member, Canadian Media Lawyers Association/Ad IDEM, professional organization for media and defamation lawyers (from 2005)

· Served on Attorney General of British Columbia, Advisory Group on reform of Limitation Act (2010 - 2011)

· Member of Advocates' Club, Vancouver (2004 - 2007)

· Member of the Board, Endeavour Society for Arts, Sciences and Health (2002-2006)

· Volunteer, Pro Bono British Columbia (2007 - 2009)

· Volunteer, BLG Reads to Kids (2004 to 2010)

· Co-Editor-in-Chief, University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review (1996-1997)

· Law Clerk for the Honourable Chief Justice, British Columbia Supreme Court (1997-1998)

Selected Presentations and Speeches

· Speaker, Pension Misrepresentation Claims, Pension Law & Litigation Conference (Federated Press, Vancouver, March 12 & 13, 2012)

· Chair, New Media Law (Ad IDEM Media Conference, Montreal: November 5, 2011)

· Presenter, Business Defamation, Business Torts (CLE of BC, Vancouver: October 7, 2011)

· Chair, A Litigator's Arsenal (CLE of BC, Vancouver: September 21, 2011)

· Presenter, Electronic Discovery from Non-Parties, Electronic Evidence and Electronic Trials (CLE of BC, Vancouver: January 28, 2011)

· Presenter, What Banking & Insolvency Practitioners Need to Know about the New Rules Now, CBA Insolvency Subsection Meeting (18 June 2010)

· Presenter, New Expert Rules under the New British Columbia Supreme Court Civil Rules: What You Need to Know Now, BC Expropriation Association/ IRWA Presentation (Thursday 22 April 2010)

· Presenter, Strategic Uses of the New Rules, Civil Litigation Boot Camp (CLE of BC,: Vancouver: January 28, 2010)

· Chair and Presenter, New Media Law (Ad IDEM Media Law Conference, Montreal: November 7, 2009)

· Chair, A Litigator's Arsenal (CLE of BC, Vancouver: April 3, 2009)

· Presenter, Compelling Electronic Document Production from Non-Parties and ISPs, Electronically Stored Information (ESI) & Electronic Discovery (Insight, Vancouver: April 17, 2008)

· Presenter, Mortgage Fraud: Recent Cases, Prevention, and Response, New Approaches New Threats: Credit Union Security Seminar (CUCBC: Vancouver and Kelowna: April 8 and 16, 2008)

· Presenter, Practicing Under the New Rules, Civil Litigation Boot Camp 2008, (CLE of BC, Vancouver: January 10, 2008)

· Presenter, Discovery Issues with Electronically Stored Information, Electronic Evidence 2007 (CLE of BC, Vancouver: October 5, 2007)

· Chair and Presenter, Rule 18A to Z: Strategies and Pitfalls for Summary Trials, A Litigator's Arsenal (CLE of BC, Vancouver: June 8, 2007)

· Presenter, Recent Developments in Defamation Law, Torts (CLE of BC, Vancouver: May 17, 2007)

· Presenter, Electronic Discovery Utilizing Third Parties, Electronic Records Management and E-Discovery Forum (Insight, Vancouver: April 17, 2007)

· Presenter, How Courts are Putting eDiscovery into Practice, E-Discovery and Electronic Records Management Conference (Infonex, Toronto: September 20, 2006)

· Acting Chair and Presenter, Electronic Evidence and eDiscovery, and Investigations and Computer Forensics, Electronic Evidence and eDiscovery (CLE of BC, Vancouver: April 27, 2006)

· Presenter, Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Media in PR Campaigns, Canadian Franchise Association Effective Media Relations Conference (Vancouver: April 2005)

· Presenter, Analyzing the Case and Developing the File for a Rule 18A Application, Working with the Rules of Court (CLE of BC, Vancouver: May 5, 2003)

· Presenter, Civil Liability for Tainted Food, Hepatitis A Seminar (Vancouver: May 17, 2002)

Selected Publications

Books

· Editor (with L. Herbst and J. MacInnis), British Columbia Business Disputes (CLE of BC, April 2011)

Articles

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (March 2012)

· Author (with Krista Johanson), JEL Investments Widens Gate for Leave to Appeal Arbitral Contractual Interpretations, The Advocate (January 2012)

· Author, An Overview of Business Defamation, Canadian Insurance Law Reporter (December 2011)

· Author, Rise of Pension Misrepresentation Claims in Canada, Benefits & Pensions Monitor (December 2011)

· Author, "Business Defamation", in British Columbia Business Disputes (CLE of BC, April 2011)

· Author (with Colin Davidson), Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law Practice (March 2011)

· Author (with Ryan Purita), No Hiding Place in Cyberspace: Electronic Discovery from Non-Parties, Electronic Evidence and Electronic Trials (CLE of BC, Vancouver: January 28, 2011)

· Author (with Ryan Parsons and Michelle Maniago), Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (March 2010)

· Author (with Michael Skene), Look before you link: website owners face potential liability for hyperlinks to defamatory material, Business in Vancouver (January 5, 2010)

· Author (with D. Ross McGowan), A powerful freeze from Canada: Mareva injunctions stop fraudsters cold, Lexpert US Guide (November 2009)

· Author (with Michael Skene), Hyperlinks to defamatory material on other websites may expose website owners to liability in defamation (The Lawyers Weekly (November 2009) and (Internet & E-Commerce Law Canada (November 2009) 10 I.E.C.L.C. 61)

· Author (with Ryan Parsons), Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (March 2009)

· Author (with D. Ross McGowan), A bank's innocent mishandling of a client's funds subject to a Mareva injunction freezing order leads to a finding of contempt of court, Credit and Banking Litigation Journal (August 2008)

· Author (with Ryan Parsons), Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (March 2008)

· Author, E-spoliation (CLE of BC, October 2007)

· Author (with Alan Cofman), Attacking and avoiding substantively deficient affidavits, A Litigator's Arsenal (CLE of BC, June 2007)

· Author (with Michael Skene), Public interest in pursuit of defamation, CAJ Media Magazine (Spring 2007) [cited in Canadian Judicial Council, "The Canadian Justice System and the Media" (2007)]

· Author (with Michael Skene), The three most earth-shatteringly important recent developments in defamation law, (CLE of BC, May 2007)

· Author (with Michael Skene), Trend Set Toward Larger Awards for Defamation of Corporations, The Lawyers Weekly (6 April 2007)

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (2007)

· Author, Recent Decision on Bank's Liability for Failure Freeze Funds Offers Comfort to Financial Institutions, Credit and Banking Litigation Journal (December 2006)

· Author (with Ryan Purita), No Hiding Place in Cyberspace: Electronic Discovery from Non-Parties, The Advocate (November 2006)

· Author, Electronic remarks may not be as anonymous as authors would like, The Lawyers Weekly (27 October 2006)

· Author, Banks and Mareva Asset-Freezing Orders, National Banking Law Review (September 2006)

· Author (with Karen Bradley), Internet Service Providers not Liable for Defamations posted through their Services, The Lawyers Weekly (12 May 2006)

· Author (with Ryan Purita), No Hiding Place in Cyberspace: Electronic Discovery from Non-Parties, (CLE of BC, April 2006)

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (2006)

· Author, BMP Global Distribution Exposes Financial Institutions to Liability in Defamation and Breach of Privacy, National Banking Law Review (February 2006)

· Author, Mareva Freezing Orders and Non-Party Financial Institutions: A Practical Guide, Banking and Finance Law Review (February 2006)

· Author, Awaken the Litigation Within: Tony Robbins Wins a Mixed Victory in the British Columbia Supreme Court, MLRC MediaLawLetter (January 2006)

· Author, SCC Upholds open court principle on media reporting on proceedings, The Lawyers Weekly, (28 October 2005)

· Author, Financial Institutions Face Liability If They Fail to Freeze Funds, National Banking Law Review (June 2005)

· Author, The Bane and the Antidote Must Be Taken Together: a Recent British Columbia Court of Appeal Decision Reassures Publishers and Journalists, Masthead Online News Bulletin (May 26, 2005)

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (2005)

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (2004)

· Author, Analyzing the Case and Developing the File for a Rule 18A Application, CLE of BC (May 2003)

· Author (with David Wotherspoon), Internet Defamation: Liability Transcending Time and Space, Information & Technology Law (May 2002)

· Author, Avoiding Defamation Suits Can Be a Tricky Business, CAJ Media Magazine (Spring 2002)

· Author, Defamation Actions Determined by Summary Trial, 13 Carswell Practice Cases (5th) 125 (March 2002)

· Author (with Tracey Cohen), Property Law Act offers a Solution to Feuding Neighbours, Realtorlink (February 2002)

· Author, Defamation, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (2002)

· Contributor, Mareva Injunction Precedent, CLE of BC, Creditors' Remedies: An Annotated Guide (2001)

· Author, Recent Developments in the Defamation Defence of Qualified Privilege, 59(5) The Advocate 683 (2001)

· Author, Damages in Corporate Defamation Law, 7(4) Commercial Litigation 370 (2000)

· Author, Torts, CLE Annual Review of Law & Practice (1999)

· Author, The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule in Canada, 36(4) Alberta Law Review 957 (1998) [cited by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in P.D. v. British Columbia, 2010 BCSC 290]

· Author, A proposal for a principled public policy doctrine post-Tolofson, 8 Windsor Rev. Legal & Social Issues 20 (1998)

· Author, The restitutionary class action, 56(1) University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review 47 (1998) [cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in Marcotte v. City of Longueuil, 2009 SCC 43]

· Author, A cross-jurisdictional study of legal aid, in Report of the Ontario Legal Aid Review: A Blueprint for Publicly Funded Legal Services (1997) [reprinted in part in Janet Walker, et al., The Civil Litigation Process, 7th ed., (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2010)]

· Author, Interpretation of GAAR: before and beyond McNichol and RMM, 23(1) Queen's Law Journal 231 (1997)

· Author, Section 2(b) Obscenity jurisprudence after Butler, 28(2) University of Ottawa Law Review (1997)