Eric Block

Practice Areas

Class Actions

Corporate & Commercial Litigation

Real Property Litigation

Professional Liability & Regulation

Tort & Negligence Matters

Estates & Trust Litigation

Injunctions & Crisis Management

Internal Investigation

Securities Litigation

Construction Litigation

Publications

Selected Publications:

“Toward a Common Law Duty to Negotiate in Good Faith” (with Brandon Mattalo), ((2023), 67 C.B.L.J. 399)

Emergency Law in Canada: Commentary and Legislation (with Adam Goldenberg), (Lexis Nexis 2021)

“Summary Judgment Prior to Certification in Class Actions: How Microsoft and Hyrniak Have Changed the Landscpape” (with Neil Finkelstein, Brandon Kain, and Byron Shaw), (2015) 44 Adv. Q. 229

Presentations:

Panelist, Employment Class Panel, Osgoode Class Action Symposium, April 25, 2024

Panelist, Appellate Advocacy for Estate Litigators, OBA Conference, April 16, 2024

Panelist, “Civility for Litigators”, The Advocates’ Society, December 14, 2023

Panelist, “Preparing Your Witness for Discovery, the Advocates’ Society, October 11, 2023

Work Highlights

-Acting as national class counsel on behalf of Canadian Cold-FX consumers alleging false and misleading claims;

-Defending the founder of a privately held company in an internal investigation and related threatened litigation;

-Representing plaintiff non-profit corporation alleging improvident settlement against a Schedule 1 Bank;

-Representing plaintiff corporation alleging fraud and conspiracy against a Schedule 1 Bank;

-Defending directors in securities and common law misrepresentation civil action;

-Acting for corporate victim of malicious phishing scheme;

-Acting for founder of a privately held company prosecuting trade secret theft claim;

-Defending American law firm in Ontario action alleging breach of trust and breach of contract;

-Defending crypto company founder in threatened civil and regulatory matters;

-Representing a whistleblower before the OSC involving RESPs;

-Successfully represented First Nations against Canada who were impacted by long term drinking water advisories and continue to be

-Acted for impacted First Nations against Canada who were impacted by Canada’s failure to provide adequate housing on reserve;

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-Defending coffee company in Ontario class action alleging management misclassification;

-Defending industrial supplier in Alberta class action alleging breach of vacation and overtime pay;

-Defending an Ontario farm in Ontario class action alleging abuse of temporary workers;

-Defending pesticide maker in BC, Ontario, and Quebec class actions alleging pesticides cause neurological disease;

-Defending maker of baby formula in BC class action alleging formula causes injury to infants;

-Defending alleged opioid distributor in various class actions across Canada; and

-Acting on the Commercial List for the (now deceased) businessman and philanthropist Michael G. DeGroote in a decade long USD $120 Million fraud case against certain individuals.

Recent Decisions:

-FSC (Annex Limited) Partnership v. Adi 24 Prince Arthur (152 OR (3d) 568); Successful Commercial List application for one limited partner against the limited partner for specific performance and a subsequent successful, alternative decision to take control of the property through a court-ordered sale (2021 ONSC 2039);

-Elad Canada v. Rester (2022 ONSC 2327); successful Commercial List Application for a developer in a post-closing working capital dispute addressing the role of the "independent accountant"

-Dunham v. Syngenta et al (2003 ONSC 872); acting for Syngenta in multi-jurisdictional Canadian agricultural products class action seeking to object to the plaintiffs’ unilateral discontinuance of the class action in Ontario;

-Zenabis Investments v. 2657408 Ontario Inc. (2021 BCSC 2459); acting in British Columbia for Sundial Growers to successfully convert the petition of Zebabis Investments Ltd to an action;

-Pokornik v. SkiptheDishes (2020 MBQB 181); acting in Manitoba for Skip-the-Dishes in a successful class action sequencing application (2020 MBQB 181);

-Darmar Farms v. Syngenta et al; (148 O.R. (3d) 115); acting for Syngenta in a pure economic loss case at the Court of Appeal) and at class certification (2021 ONSC 6411); and

-CN v. Holmes (2022 ONSC 1682); Acting for certain CN police officers in a successful Commercial List fraud trial brought by CN against a former employee.

Awards