David Alderson has reinsurance law practice experience in Canada, Bermuda and London, England, and offers appointment as a sole arbitrator and panel arbitrator in both domestic and international reinsurance arbitration. He is an experienced, independent and qualified arbitrator. David has been appointed sole arbitrator by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in commercial arbitration matters and regularly sits as an arbitrator in commercial arbitration. Click here for Reinsurance Arbitrator webpage. Sole Arbitrator – $450.00 per hour, plus HST Background David Alderson has acted for and represented ceding insurers, reinsurers, retrocessionaires, brokers and other intermediaries and has provided coverage and claims advice and representation in relation to many types of reinsurance agreements and arrangements, including quota share, excess of loss, treaty and facultative agreements. He has advised and acted in a wide range of reinsurance matters. His preferred reinsurance arbitration appointments include, but are not limited to, aviation risks, broker’s liability, … Read More
Experienced Commercial Arbitrator with Reasonable Hourly Fee Rate
David Alderson – Experienced Commercial Arbitrator with Reasonable Hourly Fee Rates Sole Arbitrator – $450.00 per hour, plus HST Experienced and Qualified Commercial Arbitrator David has been accredited by the ADR Institute as Canada as a Qualified Arbitrator (Q.Arb). He accepts appointments as a commercial, international commercial, business dispute, real estate, commercial leasing, construction, condo, technology, marine, reinsurance and employment arbitrator, at reasonable hourly rates and with good availability. David has acted as counsel in both domestic and international arbitration, including institutional and ad hoc arbitration. David has completed the Foundations in Judicial Competencies Series, and has been granted a Certificate of Completion by the Ontario Bar Association. Trusted Arbitrator Appointed by the Court and by Agreement of Parties The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has appointed David as sole arbitrator in commercial arbitration matters. On other occasions his appointment has been mutually agreed by the parties and their respective legal counsel. Membership … Read More
Commercial Mediator, David Alderson
Need a Commercial Mediator? Good Availability | Fair and Reasonable Fees David Alderson is a Commercial Mediator: Hourly Rate: $550.00 per hour, plus facilities and applicable taxes. Daily Rate: $3,500 for 6 hour day and 3 hour preparation, plus facilities and applicable taxes. Language: English Commercial Mediator – Approach to Resolving Disputes David Alderson seeks to be a resolver, an effective mediator, by being an interactive listener, a facilitator of communications and negotiation, and when the parties to a dispute require it, a neutral evaluator. With over 40 years of practice as a lawyer in a very wide variety of business, commercial, trade, property, distribution and franchise, technology, employment, reinsurance and marine disputes, both in local and international practices, David brings to the mediation a broad competence in facilitating the process, assisting parties to articulate their interests and to define the issues, and in subject matter neutral evaluation. He is equally at home in … Read More
Court of Appeal Upholds Judicial Ruling Recognizing Anti-Black Racism in Commercial Lease Dispute
In the recent Court of Appeal decision of 8573123 Canada Inc. (Elias Restaurant) v. Keele Sheppard Plaza Inc., 2021 ONCA 371, the Court of Appeal upheld a Superior Court ruling made against a commercial landlord which made note of anti-black racism against the tenant and granted relief from forfeiture based on principles rooted in equity, sparing the tenant from eviction. See our blog regarding the original ruling. In this case the landlord of a commercial plaza unit, sought to evict a husband-and-wife team of restauranteur tenants who ran an African/Black/Caribbean restaurant, catering service and bar. The Landlord’s position was that the tenant had failed to give proper notice with respect to their option to renew and was subsisting in the unit as an overholding tenant. The tenant brought an application before the court for relief from forfeiture and sought the courts assistance in exercising it’s right to continue occupying the … Read More
Condo Arbitration, Condo Litigation, Condo Oppression Claims, and Piggybacking
As a Condo Dispute Arbitrator, I am very interested when the Court of Appeal for Ontario addresses an appeal concerning an arbitration clause in a condominium document and a motion to stay Superior Court proceedings in favour of arbitration. The Case In the very recent decision Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1628 v. Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1636, 2021 ONCA 360, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, allowed an appeal from the order of the motion judge dismissing the appellants’ motion to stay an application in favour of arbitration. The dispute concerned a cost-sharing agreement (“Reciprocal Agreement”), wherein the parties agreed to contribute to the costs of the operation and maintenance of defined Common Facilities. A dispute arose as to the amounts due under the Reciprocal Agreement, which contained this arbitration clause: “The validity, construction and performance of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Province … Read More
Domain Name Disputes, Counterfeit Websites, Fake Bad Reviews and Remedies
I discuss here a number of internet-based “dirty tricks” that competitors or others may deploy and which may have serious adverse consequences for you or your business. I also briefly mention the types of remedies which may be available to those victimized in this way. Confusingly Similar Domain Names In today’s modern web-based commercial world, it is more important than ever to ensure that potential customers and returning customers are properly connected with your website domain name, and to use domain names that are well-branded and associated with your business. It is not uncommon for competitors, cyber-squatters, or other persons to obtain control of domain names that are confusingly similar to your trademarks, business names, or your domain name. Then there is a real risk that users seeking your website are instead directed elsewhere by that confusingly similar domain name. Recovering a Domain Name In order to recover (transfer to … Read More
Shareholder’s Remedies
Shareholder Remedies Under the Ontario Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”), shareholders of a corporation have a variety of rights. Outlined below are a few rights that all shareholders should be aware they possess. Voting Rights The board of directors, under s. 115 are ultimately responsible for managing or supervising the management of the business and affairs of a corporation. Major business decisions also involve the participation of the board of directors, though sales, leases, or exchanges of all or substantially all the property of the corporation that is not in the ordinary course of business requires the approval of shareholders (s. 184(3)). Shareholders also have voting rights that allow them to control the makeup of the board of directors (s. 119(4)), and also the ability to remove directors under s. 122(1) (though this is subject to exceptions under s. 120(f)). Shareholders have additional voting rights under s. 100(2). Access to Information Rights Under s. 140(1) corporations … Read More
Commercial Mediator, David Alderson, LL.B, LL.M (Commercial and Corporate)
David Alderson is a Commercial Mediator: Hourly Rate: $550.00 per hour, plus facilities and applicable taxes. Daily Rates and Half-day Rates available. Language: English Commercial Mediator – Approach to Resolving Disputes David Alderson seeks to be a resolver, an effective mediator, by being an interactive listener, a facilitator of communications and negotiation, and when the parties to a dispute require it, a neutral evaluator. With over 40 years of practice as a lawyer in a very wide variety of business, commercial, trade, property, distribution and franchise, technology, employment, reinsurance and marine disputes, both in local and international practices, David brings to the mediation a broad competence in facilitating the process, assisting parties to articulate their interests and to define the issues, and in subject matter neutral evaluation. He is equally at home in the context of complex, multi-party, and two-party single-issue disputes. He is confident about the mediation process and considers that … Read More
The Ontario Commercial Mediation Act, 2010 (Blog Part II)
David Alderson is a Commercial Mediator: Hourly Rates: $550.00 to $475.00 per hour (depending on amount of the claims), plus facilities and applicable taxes. Daily Rates and Half-day Rates available. The Ontario Commercial Mediation Act, 2010 (Blog Part II) This blog post (Part II) considers provisions of the Ontario Commercial Mediation Act 2010, S.O. 2010, c.16, Sch. 3 (the “Act”) not included in an earlier blog post (Part I) or the subsequent blog post (Part III), including the mediator’s authority, prohibition of disclosure between parties, confidentiality, admissibility, and the relationship to arbitration and judicial proceedings. An earlier blog post (Part I) considers the provisions of the Act concerning the application of the legislation, definitions contained in the Act, its interpretation, commencement and termination of the mediation, and the appointment of the mediator, duty of disclosure, and conduct of the mediation. A subsequent blog post (Part III) will consider the provisions of … Read More
It’s not all about Intent! – Court of Appeal Confirms Test for Civil Conspiracy
In the recent decision Mughal v. Bama Inc., 2020 ONCA 704 (CanLII), the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision in an action alleging civil conspiracy, among other things. The underlying action involved a plaintiff seeking the return of his investment in a corporation. On appeal, it was alleged that the trial judge applied the wrong legal test for and misapprehended the evidence to find commission of the tort of conspiracy to injure. The appellate court concluded that the trial judge applied the correct test for establishing civil conspiracy to injure as follows: Whether the means used by the defendants are lawful or unlawful, the predominant purpose of the defendants’ conduct is to cause injury to the plaintiff; or, Where the conduct of the defendants is unlawful, the conduct is directed towards the plaintiff (alone or together with others), and the defendants should know in the circumstances that injury … Read More
Expedited Arbitration by Toronto Arbitrators | Fast Track Arbitration | Simplified Arbitration
This post may be of interest to those looking for a quick, efficient, time-sensitive and less expensive way to arbitrate a dispute. On July 24, 2020, the 77th Session of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, (UNCITRAL) Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) published its draft Expedited Arbitration Provisions. Before that, the Secretariat was requested to collect information on the different roles undertaken by arbitral institutions in administering expedited arbitration. Accordingly, the Secretariat circulated a questionnaire to arbitration institutions and related organizations on 26 April 2019 and received responses from 18 institutions as of 29 July 2019. The arbitral institutions administering expedited arbitration that responded were these: Vienna International Arbitral Centre, Construction Industry Arbitration Council, Russian Arbitration Center, Milan Chamber of Arbitration, London Court of International Arbitration, Georgian International Arbitration Centre, Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, … Read More
Can The Condo Corporation Register A Lien On My Condo Unit?
A recent Divisional Court decision, Amlani v. YCC 473, 2020 ONSC 5090, confirmed that there are two separate ways to register a condo lien depending on whether the amount is related to common expenses (or “condo fees”), or related to compliance and enforcement expenses. A condo lien may be registered without a court order when the condo corporation seeks to recover unpaid condo fees. However, condo corporations are generally required to obtain a court order to register a lien when seeking to recover legal fees and expenses incurred for compliance and enforcement matters. Background The condo owner, a smoker for 56 years, purchased the unit after confirming that smoking was allowed in the building. A few years later, the neighbour complained about the smell of smoke but the issue was resolved after the condo corporation sealed certain openings at its own cost. When new complaints about the smell of smoke … Read More
Arbitration Without an Arbitration Clause | When Can I Arbitrate?
When Is Arbitration Available? An agreement to refer or submit disputes to arbitration may be made before a dispute arises or after a dispute has arisen. Arbitration Clause and Standalone Agreement to Submit Disputes to Arbitration An agreement to arbitrate typically appears as an arbitration clause in a contract in relation to which a dispute has arisen. However, resolving disputes by arbitration may be possible even if the parties have not included an arbitration clause in the contract – if they agree to submit disputes to arbitration by a standalone arbitration agreement. This way the parties to a dispute can agree to submit a dispute to arbitration even if they did not include an arbitration clause in the contract, if any, in dispute. This option provides the parties with the advantages of arbitration as a presumptively private and confidential, efficient, faster and therefore less expensive way to resolve disputes. Statutory … Read More
Employment Arbitrator | Reasonable Fees and Good Availability
David Alderson, LL.B, LL.M, Q.Arb – Employment Arbitrator Competitive Fee Rates Offered. Sole Arbitrator – $450.00 per hour, plus HST Arbitrator Experience David Alderson is an experienced, independent and qualified arbitrator. He has been appointed as arbitrator by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to adjudicate disputes. David accepts appointment as an employment dispute arbitrator. David is a full member of the ADR Institute of Ontario and is in its arbitrating member’s Directory of Ontario Dispute Resolution Professionals, as well being a member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society, where he appears on its Roster of Member Arbitrators. His roster membership can be viewed here. He hold an LL.B (Osgoode), LL.M (Lond.) and Q.Arb (ADR Institute of Canada). David is on the newly formed Member’s Roster for Remote Arbitration and Mediation Services, for the provision of remote Arbitration in a wide variety of disputes. David has completed the Foundations in Judicial Competencies Series, and has … Read More
Online Defamation and Use of Pseudonyms
Online Defamation (“Cyber Libel”) Many of our defamation matters come from the internet. These cases take many forms, from defamatory articles, to social media posts, to negative reviews of a business or person. Courts have recognized that online defamation or “cyber libel” is far more perverse than other forms of defamation. This is because internet users can reach the global population within seconds by publishing defamatory remarks about an individual or a business. As such, cyber libel can be significantly more damaging to a person’s business and/or reputation than other forms of defamation. Posting via Online Pseudonyms Some individuals go so far as to create aliases to post malicious and defamatory comments about others on the internet. In Ontario, you can sue an anonymous defamer by naming them as “John Doe” and/or “Jane Doe” in your claim against them. There are methods to determine the identity of these anonymous defamers, … Read More
Toronto Defamation Lawyers – Libel and Slander Law in Ontario
Defamation is the tort of false publication (whether written or oral). Typically, a publication which tends to lower a person’s reputation in the opinion of reasonable members of society, or to expose a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, is defamatory and will attract liability. The major piece of legislation governing the law of defamation in Ontario is the Libel and Slander Act. According to the Act, you can be defamed in two ways: via either (1) Libel and/or (2) Slander. What is Libel? Defamatory communications may be by words, pictures, sounds, or other forms of communication. They may be published on the internet, in social media postings, on websites, online reviews, chat rooms, or in other forms of broadcast. The dissemination of such defamatory comments or communications to the public is libelous. What is Slander? Slander is the public utterance of words that are meant to disparage a person … Read More
Construction Arbitrator | Reasonable Hourly Rate | Good Availability
Construction arbitrators must be able to arbitrate efficiently and at the pace required by the parties, disputes ranging from simple renovations and repair, to complex multi-party multi-staged projects. The ability to understand construction stages and complexities of design, architecture, engineering and project management, and technical dimensions of a construction dispute are the hallmarks of an effective construction arbitrator. Sole Arbitrator – $450.00 per hour, plus HST Experience In his practice here in Ontario, and when practicing in Dubai and Bermuda, David has been involved in a wide array of construction disputes, including, but not limited to project development, project finance, infrastructure and construction disputes, including matters involving parking garages, road building, residential house construction and renovation, condo development and financing disputes, numerous joint venture disputes, matters involving demolition, collapse, fire and flood, as well as contract disputes concerning construction quality and warranties; and labour disputes in the construction industry. Arbitrator … Read More