Eric has specialized in insurance law for 42 years, is named as one of Canada’s top commercial insurance lawyers by Lexpert Magazine, and recognized as a leading lawyer for Insurance and Reinsurance by Who’s Who Legal: Canada. Eric is a founding partner in the firm which is consistently ranked as one of Canada’s Top 10 Insurance Boutique law firms by Canadian Lawyer magazine.

Eric’s trial experience is varied and embraces the full spectrum of cases that liability insurers defend with recent notable examples including:

The defence of various class actions stemming from the largest food safety recall in Canadian history: Harrison v. XL Foods Inc., 2014 ABQB 720
The defence of a class certification for debt consolidation firms alleged to have breached provincial consumer protection legislation and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act: Pearce v. 4 Pillars Consulting Group Inc., 2019 BCSC 1851
The defence of a law firm confronting allegations of breach of fiduciary duty by reason of a conflict of interest: Hutchison v. Moore, 2021 BCCA 301
The novel issue of whether a gambling casino owes a duty of care to self-excluded patrons: Ross v. B.C. Lottery Corp., 2014 BCSC 320
A 104 day trial resulting from catastrophic brain injury entailing extensive medical-legal expert evidence and standard of care issues: MacEachern v. Rennie and Canadian National Transport, 2010 BCSC 625
A case that examined the legal relationship between an insurer and a broker that undertakes underwriting functions: Scottish & York Ins. Co. v. Metrix Professional Brokers Inc., 2008 64 C.C.L.I (4th) 242
Complex issues of proximity and causation in the sports liability context: Dyke v. B.C.Amateur Softball Association, 2008 76 B.C.L.R. (4th) 278
Concepts of reasonable foreseeability and remoteness of a municipal body: Abdi v.Burnaby (City of), 2020 BCCA 125

Eric has been peer-reviewed and recognized by Lexpert as one of Canada’s Leading Practitioners in the area of commercial insurance litigatio

Eric’s dominant practice areas include:

Professional liability defence, coverage and monitoring:

The defence of a wide range of professionals including architects/engineers/medical service providers/land surveyors and accountants
Creating and modifying E & O policy wordings for underwriters
Acting as monitoring and coverage counsel on Canadian E & O programs

Cyber defence and coverage:

Working as “cyber coach” for insurer cyber programs
Cyber class action defence
Coverage advice on first party data recovery and third party PIPEDA/Privacy Act/CASLclaims
Cyber breach notification procedures
Negotiating with Federal and Provincial Privacy Commissioners on breach notice
Multi-provincial litigation involving cyber breaches entailing personal information in differing provinces.
Revising cyber policy wordings for use in Canada
Addressing regulatory compliance with PIPEDA and CASL

Complex coverage disputes and policy wordings:

Coverage work, including his role as national and monitoring counsel for specialized insurance programs, has resulted in Eric being the insurer’s counsel of choice on many high profile and well known coverage cases decided in various jurisdictions across Canada.

D & O monitoring and coverage:

Defending, managing and resolving securities class actions in 6 of 10 provinces
Extensive coverage work on both reimbursement and “duty to defend” D & O policies
Defence of private company and non-profit D & O claims
Modified D & O policies and developed manuscript endorsements for use in Canada

Employment practice liability and coverage:

National monitoring and coverage counsel on a wide range of EPL insurance programs in Canada
Developed “made in Canada” EPL forms
Defended entities and management on “duty to defend” EPL policies for a wide range of wrongful employment violations
Maintained Canada wide 1-800 toll service for EPL insurers and their insured

Construction defence and coverage:

Defended a wide range of construction site participants including contractors, sub-contractors, project managers, and developers.
Handled a wide range of surety and warranty claims including coverage issues

Environmental Impairment Liability Insurance and First Party Cleanup Coverage:

Retained by EIL insurers to defend claims brought against both spill and long term pollution contamination events, particularly in the energy and mining sectors
Retained to provide coverage advice on EIL policies and acted as coverage and monitoring counsel on site cleanup claims

Fiduciary liability and coverage:

Acted as defence counsel on covered pension plan disputes
Extensive coverage work on fiduciary liability policies
Modified policy forms for use in Canada

General liability policies and coverage:

Defended a wide range of insureds
Litigated key coverage cases on “duty to defend” policies
Provided advisory services to insurers modifying their general liability policies
Acted for liability insurers undertaking policy buyouts on mass tort claims including asbestos, environmental losses and tobacco litigation

Property policies: