US Cross-Border Litigation

Businesses are increasingly facing cross-border litigation as they expand their reach into additional jurisdictions across the globe. As Canada and the US enjoy the world’s largest trade partnership, much of our work is focused on helping US and Canadian clients seeking to establish, sell or invest in companies across the US/Canada border. Lawson Lundell has a busy US cross-border practice, helping our clients navigate the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Canada. We also serve as a trusted partner to attorneys in the United States and are regularly called upon to advise their clients on Canadian legal issues.

We assist our clients with the enforcement of foreign orders and judgments in Canada and connect them with foreign attorneys to enforce Canadian orders abroad. We advise on the acquisition and sale of all types of businesses in Canada. We provide advice on capital raising including public and private, debt and equity, project finance, asset-based, and other forms of financing. We act in cross-border joint ventures, investments and real estate and other commercial transactions. In addition, we represent clients from jurisdictions around the world in various litigation and other adversarial proceedings. We routinely assist US counsel in enforcing letters rogatory in British Columbia.

Our corporate finance and securities group regularly advises businesses on all aspects of compliance with Canadian securities laws, including securities registration and listing and reporting and compliance requirements.

Our dedicated project team, with nationally and internationally recognised knowledge of Aboriginal, Energy, and Environmental regulatory frameworks, provides our global clients with regulatory advice on their proposed Canadian projects. We have assisted our US clients with arbitrations, tribunals and regulatory hearings. 

Experience

Examples of work done in the US Cross-border litigation include:

Copyright and Trademark Infringement

• Represented a United States book publisher who was sued in British Columbia for copyright infringement and successfully had the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds

Product Liability Cases

• Represented a United States manufacturer in successfully dismissing an action involving a product that was alleged to have caused injuries in British Columbia
• Acted as Canadian counsel in a “mega” bankruptcy proceeding in the United States with cross border implications, involving thousands of product liability claims

Commercial Disputes Arising from Cross-Border Trade

• Represented a British Columbia company that was in a contractual dispute with a California company. Competing lawsuits were filed in British Columbia and California
• Represented Ball Corporation of Denver, Colorado, in a claim by Ocean Fisheries in the Supreme Court of British Columbia regarding a price adjustment clause under a contractual arrangement (Ocean Fisheries Limited v. Ball Packaging Products Canada Corp. and Ball Corporation, SCBC Action No. S053954)

Securities Litigation

• Represented a US company as well as individuals who invested with a company that is incorporated in Canada with regards to proxy contests, oppression and derivative actions

Helping Foreign Businesses Expand to Canada

• Advised a utility services company considering entering the Canadian sub-metering market
• We frequently provide legal opinions to US companies regarding Canadian regulatory requirements

Regulatory Proceedings

• Advised US financiers on regulatory proceedings in BC related to US acquisitions of BC utilities

Insolvency Proceedings

• Acted for a counter-party to an International Swap Dealers Association agreement in resolving jurisdictional disputes regarding the proper forum in respect of the ISDA swap agreement involving concurrent proceedings in the BC Supreme Court and the English High Court. (North American Steamship Inc., 2007 BCSC 267)
• Enforcement of foreign judgments for realization against assets located in British Columbia and Canada
• Cross Border Insolvency matters, including Chapter 15 recognition of US bankruptcy proceedings as the foreign main proceedings
• Implementation of Protocols for joint management of cross-border insolvencies, restructurings and receiverships
• Defence of avoidance actions involving Canadian parties
• Counsel for Receiver over three Canadian limited partnerships which raised funds for real estate investments in the USA.  Total funds raised by these entities exceeded $300 million
• Counsel for the court-appointed Receiver-Manager of the general partner of four limited partnerships that were involved in the ownership and development of several residential, multi-unit complexes situated in the United States. The realization of the assets has involved insolvency proceedings in British Columbia and the United States
• Advised in The Matter of Pope & Talbot, a cross-border insolvency proceeding in which we acted for former employees in a claim against Pope & Talbot’s directors and the D& O insurers for unpaid wages.  The case involved multiple joint hearings by video conference with the Delaware bankruptcy court and the BC Supreme Court

Insurance

• Represented a large international engineering firm in an action involving claims against insurers arising out of the construction of a mine in South America
• Represented several international mining companies in respect of claims against insurers for indemnity against historical environmental claims

Arbitrations

• Successfully represented an international mining client in a private arbitration concerning an option agreement related to an exploration property located in Africa
• Represented an American corporation that purchased a culinary school in Vancouver in an arbitration that dealt with issues relating to the purchase agreement

Team