Barry is a partner with Rueter Scargall Bennett LLP. Barry focuses his practice on litigation, including corporate/commercial, environmental, employment and defamation matters.
Barry is an experienced trial counsel. He has extensive advocacy experience before various courts at all stages of litigation and has also appeared before several different administrative tribunals. Barry has acted as counsel in numerous mediations and commercial arbitrations.
Barry has made more than 850 appearances in various types of proceedings, including extensive trial and appellate experience.
Corporate/Commercial Litigation
Barry has experience in various specialized areas of corporate/commercial litigation, including contract disputes, banking and investment management, shareholder remedies, injunctions, regulatory proceedings, professional negligence, estates/trusts and fraud. He has handled large, complex matters involving co-ordination of litigation team efforts and extensive documentary and factual circumstances.
Major commercial cases handled by Barry include shareholder disputes involving buy/sell mechanisms, litigation arising out of financial restructurings, and bank guarantee and mortgage actions. His major commercial trials have included Chitel v. Bank of Montreal; Adelaide Capital Corporation v. Cowieson; Royal Trust Corporation v. Royal Bank of Canada; National Bank of Canada v. the Estate of Harold Ballard.
[Click here for Representative Corporate/Commercial Matters]
Environmental Law
Barry has experience in all aspects of environmental litigation, including civil litigation of liability for cleanups of historical contamination, appeals of government orders, defence of environmental prosecutions and environmental assessments. He also provides compliance and transactional advice to major corporations.
His clients include primarily business interests, including public and private corporations, financial institutions, small businesses, professionals and individuals. He previously represented the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and other ministries in civil litigation arising from a major spill into a public waterway.
He is Chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association and is also active in the Canadian Bar Association National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law section and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and the Toxic Torts & Environmental Litigation Committee of the Torts & Insurance Practice Section. He writes and speaks regularly on a broad range of environmental issues.
[Click here for Representative Environmental Law Matters]
Employment Litigation
Barry also has extensive experience in employment law matters, including cases involving wrongful dismissal, restrictive covenants, workplace investigations and human rights. He acts primarily for executives in wrongful dismissal matters, but has previous experience acting for employers as well. His restrictive covenant cases include cases dealing with fiduciary duties and non-solicitation/ non-competition clauses. He has conducted several workplace investigations on a variety of issues and has acted for executives whose conduct was being investigated. Barry has also handled a broad variety of human rights cases, including workplace harassment and discrimination cases involving race, religion, gender and disability. He was counsel for the successful complainant in the historic Tahmourpour v. RCMP case before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and Federal Court of Appeal, and has also acted in several administrative hearings, judicial reviews and constitutional cases, including cases dealing with labour mobility rights, civil remedy provisions of the Competition Act and challenges to the Meech Lake Accord.
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Defamation
Barry has been counsel on numerous high and low profile defamation cases, including Finta v. CTV, Pindling v. NBC, Botiuk v. Toronto Free Press and numerous other cases.
[Click here for Representative Defamation Matters]
Estates & Trusts Litigation
Barry has handled a broad range of estate and trusts disputes, involving challenges to capacity of testators, undue influence, powers of attorney, removal of executors, executors’ compensation and the passing of accounts, including various cases involving charities.
[Click here for Representative Estates & Trusts Litigation Matters]
Teaching and Professional Activities
Barry is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and previously taught at Queen’s University Faculty of Law and in the Law Society of Upper Canada Bar Admission Course. He also served on a joint bench/bar/attorney-general committee on the implementation of case management in Ontario.
Recent Reported Decisions
Gainer v. Export Development Canada, 2009 FCA 154 (CanLII)
— 2009-05-13
Federal Court of Appeal — Canada
von — complaint — retaliated — reprisals — investigation
Morrison v. HSBC Bank of Canada, 2008 FCA 340 (CanLII) — 2008-11-03
Federal Court of Appeal — Canada
customer service representative — investigator — bank's computer — complaint — identification
Iroquois Falls Power Corp. v. Jacobs Canada Inc., 2008 CanLII 56010
(ON S.C.) — 2008-10-30
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
prejudice — cracking — amend — admission — motion
Tahmourpour v. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2008 CHRT10 (CanLII)
— 2008-04-16
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal — Canada
pistol — troop — pepper spray — minority cadets — training
cited by 1 case
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Bains v. Sadhu Singh Hamdard Trust, 2008 ONCA 52 (CanLII)
— 2008-01-24
Court of Appeal for Ontario — Ontario
quarrel — motion — forum — principles — articulated
Bains v. Hamdard, 2007 CanLII 17190 (ON S.C.) — 2007-05-16
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
motion — costs — straight-forward — awarded — video
Bains v. Sadhu Singh Hamdard Trust, 2007 CanLII 9610 (ON S.C.)
— 2007-03-27
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
newspaper — forum — website — published — factor
Breslin v. Breslin, 2006 CanLII 50893 (ON S.C.D.C.) — 2006-10-18
Divisional Court — Ontario
medical — motion — execute — contumelious — decoded
Kenilworth Publishing Inc. v. S.A.C. Sign Association of Canada, 2006 CanLII 6205 (ON S.C.) — 2006-03-02
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
non-competition — meeting — sardine business — discussed — covenant
Tahmourpour v. Canada (Solicitor General), 2005 FCA 113 (CanLII) — 2005-04-06
Federal Court of Appeal — Canada
cadets — attrition — investigator — complaint — members of visible minorities
cited by 20 cases
Omstead Foods Limited and Helmi Ansari v. Director, Ministry of the Environment...
Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal, July 24, 2003
Capital Vision Inc. v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue), 2002 FCT 1317 (CanLII) — 2002-12-19
Federal Court of Canada — Canada
requirements — audit — unnamed persons — judicial authorization — taxpayer
cited by 2 cases
Chitel v. Bank of Montreal, 2002 CanLII 49645 (ON S.C.) — 2002-05-23
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
joint venture partner — property — undivided half interest — fiduciary duty — joint venture agreement
cited by 2 cases
Royal Bank v. Gentra Canada Investments Inc., 2000 CanLII 22796 (ON S.C.) — 2000-02-07
Superior Court of Justice — Ontario
letter of credit — fraud — issuer — call — construction lien holdbacks
Publications, Speeches and Media Commentary
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Is there a Conflict between a Lawyer’s Duty of Confidentiality and an Engineer’s Duty to Warn?
Program Chair, Joint Program of OBA Environmental Law Section and Professional Engineers Ontario, Toronto, June 22, 2009
“Ontario tightening land remediation rules -- Province considering feedback on proposed amendments”
Quoted in Law Times, June 15, 2009
Law Times - Ontario tightening land remediation rules
Message from the Chair
EnviroNews, June 2009, Ontario Bar Association
Negotiating the Fine Print: Environmental Issues in the Purchase and Saleof a Business
“Dirty Deals - Addressing Environmental Issues in the Purchase and Sale Transaction”, OBA Environmental Law Section Program, London, Ontario, April 29, 2009
Unique Issues in Environmental Litigation
CLE programme of the Ontario Bar Association, “Putting the Puzzle Together: An Exploration of Emerging and Critical Issues in Environmental Civil Litigation”, April 6, 2009
Message from the Chair: Protecting the Environment in Recessionary Times
EnviroNews, April 2009, Ontario Bar Association
Emerging Trends and Challenges in Environmental Law
Program Co-chair, OBA Annual Institute, Toronto, February 2, 2009
Message from the Chair: Rethinking the Environmental Law Framework
EnviroNews, January 2009, Ontario Bar Association
3rd Annual Ministry of the Environment Update, 2008: Recent and Upcoming Changes to Ontario's Environmental Laws
Program Co-Chair, CLE Program of the Ontario Bar Association, Toronto, November 20, 2008
Message from the Chair: New Interest and Opportunityin Environmental Law
EnviroNews, November 2008, Ontario Bar Association
Advanced Roundtable in Environmental Law 2008
Panelist, Law Society of Upper Canada CLE Program, October 28, 2008
Environmental Lawyer Finds New Home
Mentioned in Financial Post article by Jim Middlemiss, July 8, 2008
Musical Chairs - FP Legal Post
“Expelled RCMP cadet's battle continuesTheStar.com - Canada - Expelled RCMP cadet's battle continues-- Force challenges order giving Ali Tahmourpour another chance to join, $500,000 in damages”
Quoted in Toronto Star article, May 17, 2008
TheStar.com - Canada - Expelled RCMP cadet's battle continues
“Mounties challenge $500,000 award in discrimination ruling”,
Quoted in CBCNews.ca article, May 16, 2008
Mounties challenge $500000 award in discrimination ruling
“Reinstated for Cadet Training”
Interview on CBC Radio Metro Morning by Jane Hawtin, April 17, 2008
Listen.
“Racial taunts cost Mounties $500000”,
Quoted in The Globe and Mail article, page 1, April 17, 2008
globeandmail.com: Racial taunts cost Mounties $500000
“Man gets his Mounties -- Muslim to become an RCMP recruit again after 9-year battle -- and collect $650Gs”
Quoted in Toronto Sun article, page 1, April 17, 2008
“Ex-RCMP cadet wins discrimination case – Gets second shot at dream of becoming Mountie”
Quoted in Canadian Press article published in major newspapers across Canada, April 17, 2008
The Canadian Press: Ex-RCMP cadet wins discrimination case; gets ...
“RCMP faces $1M payout on discrimination case”
Quoted in CBCNews.ca article, April 17, 2008
RCMP faces $1M payout on discrimination case
“RCMP must reinstate cadet -- Human Rights tribunal rules Ali Tahmourpour was harassed and singled out for his Muslim beliefs; orders back pay that could total as much as $650,000”
Quoted in Toronto Star article, April 17, 2008
TheStar.com | Canada | RCMP must reinstate cadet
Better Legislation Needed to Revitalize Urban Brownfields
Published as “Canada Lags Behind U.S. on Brownfields Legislation” in The Lawyers’ Weekly, February 22, 2008(reprinted with permission on Globe-Net February 2008)
COMMENTARY: Canada lags behind US on brownfields legislation
Review of Significant Environmental Litigation in 2007: Continuing Trend To Restrict Damages and Liability in Civil Cases?
OBA Annual Institute, Toronto, February 2008
Preparing Documents for Trial
Law Society of Upper Canada 7th Annual Civil Litigation for Law Clerks CLE program, Toronto, November 2007
7th Annual Civil Litigation for Law Clerks
Environmental Law Practice Tips and Tools Round Table Dinner
Panelist, Ontario Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division, Toronto, November 2007
Brownfields: Proposed New Cleanup Standards
Program Chair, Ontario Bar Association Environmental Law Section, Toronto, October 2007
2006-2007 Year in Review: OntarioEnvironment and Energy Conservation Initiatives
Annual National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Summit of Canadian Bar Association National Environment, Energy and Resources Law Section, Montreal, April 2007
The Application of Limitation Periods to Environmental Issues
Ontario Bar Association Annual Institute, Toronto, February 2007
The Top Ten Reasons to Go Green – Tips from a Legal Professional
Canadian Business Franchise Magazine, January-February 2007
Material Preparation for Mediation and Trial
Insight Information Civil Litigation Law Clerk Series Conference, Toronto, March 2006
Ontario’s New Brownfield Rules
Ontario Bar Association Annual Institute, Toronto, January 2006
(co-author with Joanna Fine)
Expanded Environmental Duties for Directors and Officers in Ontario
UNISFÉRA International Centre Conference Entreprise et Environnement: Enjeux, Stratégie et Gestion, Montreal, November 2005
Modifications Needed to Crown Disclosure Conditions in Environmental Prosecutions
EnviroNews, Ontario Bar Association Environmental Law Section newsletter, November 2005
Absolute Liability in the Imposition of Environmental Penalties: Radical Change in Approach or Complementary Enforcement Tool?
Ontario Bar Association “Environmental Liability and Bill 133: What You Need to Know” Continuing Legal Education seminar, Toronto, September 2005
Legal Issues: Return to Work Programs
PetBiz Magazine, September 2005
Accessibility Legislation and the Canadian Retail Experience
PetBiz Magazine, May 2005
Environmental Due Diligence: The Dangers that Lurk Beneath
Law Society of Upper Canada Continuing Legal Education seminar, Corporate Due Diligence, Toronto, March 2002
Environment in the Courts
Speaker, Canadian Bar Association – Ontario and American Bar Association Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law joint conference Doing Business in Canada and the United States: Environmental Law Considerations, Toronto, April 1997
Green Dispute Resolution – Environmental ADR: A Two Part Concepts and Skills Program
Program Chair, Canadian Bar Association (Ontario) Environmental Law Section, Toronto, September 1996
Book Review of William A. Donohue, The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union,
(1986), 44(1) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 129
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