Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
34545
Canadian National Railway v. McKercher LLP, et al.
(Saskatchewan) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-07-16 | Appeal closed | |
| 2013-07-08 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2013-07-08 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2013-07-05 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ LeB F Abe Ro Cro Mo Ka Wa, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, Numbers 1859 and 1913, 2011 SKCA 108, dated September 28, 2011, heard on January 24, 2013, is allowed with costs and the matter remitted to the Court of Queen’s Bench to be decided in accordance with the reasons. Allowed, with costs |
|
| 2013-01-31 | Transcript received, (126 pages) | |
| 2013-01-24 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2013-01-24 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2013-01-24, CJ LeB F Abe Ro Cro Mo Ka Wa Judgment reserved |
|
| 2013-01-24 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, All parties consented. | |
| 2013-01-24 | Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in the court room | Federation of Law Societies of Canada |
| 2013-01-24 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in the court room | McKercher LLP |
| 2013-01-24 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in the court room | Canadian National Railway |
| 2013-01-17 | Correspondence received from, Mr. Brammall dated Jan. 16/13 re: replacement page at Tab 1 of their book of authorities, there is not need for a new cd (sent to the Cour Jan. 21/13) | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2013-01-15 | Correspondence received from, Mr. Mercer dated Jan. 11/13 re confirming that Mr. Mercer will be making oral submission | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2013-01-11 | Notice of appearance, John J.L. Hunter, QC and Stanley Martin will be appearing. John J.L. Hunter will present oral submissions. Original rec'd Jan 17/13. | Federation of Law Societies of Canada |
| 2013-01-10 |
Order by, F, FURTHER TO THE ORDER dated November 23, 2012, granting leave to intervene to the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada; IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said interveners are each granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding ten (10) minutes at the hearing of the appeal. Granted, no order as to costs |
|
| 2013-01-10 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-01-10 | Federation of Law Societies of Canada |
| 2013-01-09 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-01-10 | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2013-01-09 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-01-10 | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2013-01-08 | Notice of appearance, Douglas C. Hodson, Q.C., Vanessa Monar Enweani and C. Ryan Lepage will be appearing. Douglas C. Hodson will make oral submissions | Canadian National Railway |
| 2013-01-08 | Notice of appearance, Gavin MacKenzie and Lauren Wihak will be appearing. M. MacKenzie will make oral submissions | McKercher LLP |
| 2013-01-03 | Correspondence received from, Gowlings re: 2 reserved seats | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2013-01-03 | Notice of appearance, Malcolm M. Mercer, Eric Block and Brendan Brammaill will be appearing - original red Jan 11/13 by fax | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2012-12-10 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2012-11-23 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (by FISH J.) | |
| 2012-11-23 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, F, UPON APPLICATIONS by the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada for leave to intervene in the above appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motions for leave to intervene of the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada are granted and the said interveners shall be entitled to each serve and file a factum not to exceed 10 pages in length on or before January 10, 2013. The requests to present oral argument are deferred to a date following receipt and consideration of the written arguments of the parties and the interveners. The interveners are not entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties. Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the interveners shall pay to the appellant and respondents any additional disbursements occasioned to the appellant and respondents by their interventions Granted |
|
| 2012-11-23 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, F | |
| 2012-11-22 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2013-01-24 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2012-11-20 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2012-11-09 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2012-11-09 | McKercher LLP |
| 2012-11-09 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2012-11-09 | McKercher LLP |
| 2012-10-19 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Gavin MacKenzie dated october 19/12 re: take no position, Completed on: 2012-10-19 | McKercher LLP |
| 2012-10-18 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Jeffrey Beedell dated October 18/12 re: takes no position, Completed on: 2012-10-18 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-10-12 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2012-10-12 | Federation of Law Societies of Canada |
| 2012-10-10 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), (3 volumes), Completed on: 2012-10-10 | Canadian Bar Association |
| 2012-09-14 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2012-09-14 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-09-14 | Appellant's record, Completed on: 2012-09-14 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-09-14 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2012-09-14 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-08-16 | Correspondence received from, Gavin MacKenzie dated August 16, 2012 re: no disqualification required | McKercher LLP |
| 2012-06-22 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2012-06-22 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-06-21 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties, dated June 21/12, from the Registrar, Re: conflict with the judges | |
| 2012-05-25 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2012-05-25 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2012-05-25 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2012-05-24 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, Number 1859, 2011 SKCA 108, dated September 28, 2011, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2012-03-12 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, De F Ka | |
| 2012-01-23 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2012-01-23 | Canadian National Railway |
| 2012-01-13 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-01-13 | McKercher LLP |
| 2011-11-30 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal but without formal Court of Appeal order | |
| 2011-11-28 | Application for leave to appeal, Final C/A order missing - Rec'd on december 13, 2011, Completed on: 2011-11-28 | Canadian National Railway |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian National Railway | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| McKercher LLP | Respondent | Active |
| Wallace, Gordon | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Bar Association | Intervener | Active |
| Federation of Law Societies of Canada | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Canadian National Railway
Counsel
Vanessa Monar Enweani
C. Ryan Lepage
1500, 410 - 22nd Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 5T6
Telephone: (306) 975-7100
FAX: (306) 975-7145
Email: dhodson@mlt.com
Agent
50 O'Connor Street
Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171 Ext: 122
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: jeff.beedell@mcmillan.ca
Party: McKercher LLP
Counsel
Lauren Wihak
1 First Canadian Place, Suite 6000
100 King Street West, P.O. Box 367
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1E2
Telephone: (416) 369-5286
FAX: (416) 369-7912
Email: gmackenzie@davis.ca
Agent
55 Metcalfe street, Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 236-4673
FAX: (866) 224-5596
Email: jparisien@heenan.ca
Party: Wallace, Gordon
Counsel
1 First Canadian Place, Suite 6000
100 King Street West, P.O. Box 367
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1E2
Telephone: (416) 369-5286
FAX: (416) 369-7912
Email: gmackenzie@davis.ca
Agent
55 Metcalfe street, Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 236-4673
FAX: (866) 224-5596
Email: jparisien@heenan.ca
Party: Canadian Bar Association
Counsel
Eric S. Block
Brendan Brammall
Suite 5300, T-D Bank Tower
Toronto-Dominion Centre
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1E6
Telephone: (416) 362-1812
FAX: (416) 868-0673
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com
Party: Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Counsel
Stanley Martin
2100 - 1040 Georgia St. W.
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 4H1
Telephone: (604) 891-2401
FAX: (604) 647-4554
Email: jhunter@litigationchambers.com
Agent
397 Gladstone Avenue
Suite1
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Fiduciary Duty Attorneys Conflict of Interest What was the scope of McKercher’s duty to CN to avoid conflicts of interest? Whether McKercher was in a conflict of interest by suing its current client Whether McKercher breached the remaining elements of the duty of loyalty Whether disqualification of McKercher is the appropriate remedy.
In 2008, the law firm McKercher LLP began representing Gordon Wallace as the representative plaintiff in a class action law suit against Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway and others, in which prairie farmers allege that the railways overcharged western farmers for grain transportation over a 25 year period. When the claim was launched, McKercher LLP also was acting for Canadian National Railway on a number of other matters. Canadian National Railway applied to disqualify McKercher LLP from acting on the class action law suit.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan
2009 SKQB 369, Q.B.G. No. 1516 of 2008
Order disqualifying McKercher LLP from acting further in action by Gordon Wallace
Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan
1859, 1913, 2011 SKCA 108
Appeal allowed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
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