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Ian C. Matthews

Partner

Toronto
[email protected]
416.367.6723

Expertise

Saleha Kagzi

Practice Assistant

Toronto
[email protected]
416.367.6081

Ian’s experience includes complex commercial litigation and appellate disputes. He has significant expertise in class actions, representing both plaintiffs and defendants on diverse claims ranging from unpaid overtime to foreign currency exchange issues in Canada and the United States.

Ian has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and at the Supreme Court of Canada. He is an active member of BLG, serving on its committees relating to generative AI and the Future of Work, and as a member of BLG’s national Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Prior to joining BLG, Ian practiced at a leading litigation boutique in Toronto and a large U.S. law firm. He served as a law clerk to the Honourable Madam Justice Marie Deschamps at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2010-11.

Experience

  • Peoples Trust Company, in obtaining urgent injunctive relief enforcing the audit provisions of a commercial contract.
  • A dissenting shareholder, in a successful application seeking payment of fair value for his shares in the context of an amalgamation transaction in the mining sector.
  • Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, in successfully obtaining judgment following a multi-week trial arising out of property damage suffered to its operating rooms in the context of a construction project.
  • A technology growth equity company, in an arbitration with one of its former shareholders to resolve the value of the company’s assets.
  • BMO InvestorLine Inc., in defeating certification of a proposed class action regarding the receipt of mutual fund commissions and subsequently upholding the decision on appeal.
  • A developer of large energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, in a successful multi-week arbitration with its customer over a terminated battery storage and backup project.
  • Foresters Life Insurance Company, in obtaining an ex parte Mareva injunction and Norwich order freezing the assets of insurance agents alleged to be engaging in a multimillion dollar fraud.
  • A naturopathic doctor, in prosecuting a multimillion dollar claim against an international pharmaceutical company alleging misappropriation of the doctor’s personality to sell natural health products.
  • An individual shareholder, in an extensive arbitration proceeding alleging oppression in the sale of his shares in a multi-billion dollar financial services company.
  • A number of telescope manufacturers, including Celestron LLC and Pacific Telescope Corp., in obtaining the summary dismissal of a proposed class action for delay.
  • BMO Investments Inc., in defending a class action seeking $200 million in damages in relation to “trailing commissions” charged in connection with certain mutual funds.
  • A technology corporation, in obtaining a civil search warrant (Anton Piller Order) against an executive who misappropriated the company’s property.
  • An individual executive, in successfully defending a $30 million claim alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary obligations and a proposed worldwide Mareva injunction seeking to freeze assets.
  • A group of standardbred horse breeders, in successfully prosecuting a $65 million lawsuit against the Province of Ontario and the provincial lottery and gaming corporation for negligence and breach of contract relating to the cancellation of a revenue sharing arrangement that placed slot machines in racetracks.
  • The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in successfully responding to an appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada involving the liberty and security of the person interests of mentally ill individuals under s. 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • The Information Technology Association of Canada, in an intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada involving the enforceability of online forum selection clauses in consumer agreements.
  • Current and former employees of trucking and logistics company Canada Cartage, in a successfully-certified $100 million class action seeking damages for unpaid overtime.
  • Standard Chartered PLC, in defending and resolving a $1 billion class action alleging price-fixing in the foreign exchange market.
  • Mattamy Homes, in a $400 million dispute regarding the interpretation of the terms of a joint-venture agreement.
  • Two high school students, in a successful constitutional challenge to their principal’s decision to impose a breathalyzer test as a precondition of entry into their prom.
  • NEC Corporation, NEC Canada and TOKIN Corporation, in a successful jurisdictional challenge made in the context of an $85 million class action alleging price-fixing in the market for lithium ion batteries.

Beyond Our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Executive Member, Ontario Bar Association, Class Actions section
  • Co-Chair, Class Actions Bench-Bar Liaison Committee
  • Member, Canadian Bar Association
  • Member, The Advocates' Society
  • Volunteer Lawyer, Pro Bono Ontario
  • Member, Law Society of Ontario

Community Involvement

  • Director, Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club
  • Chair, Governance Committee, Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club

Awards & Recognitions

  • Recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada® (Corporate and Commercial Litigation).
  • Recognized in the 2023 and 2021 editions of Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation
  • Recognized in the 2024 (and since 2023) and 2021 editions of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Litigation - Corporate Commercial) and in the 2024 edition (Class Actions).

Bar Admission & Education

  • New York, 2011
  • Ontario, 2008
  • LLM, Harvard Law School, 2009
  • LLB, University of Windsor, 2007
  • BA, McGill University, 2003 (Valedictorian)