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Bruce successfully represented eight Canadian financial institutions in the Lloyd’s of London letters of credit dispute, which was heard at Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. He also acted as lead counsel for 12 financial institutions at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada in the Mastercraft case, a landmark decision for lenders that finance securities investments. He recently acted for 12 financial institutions to freeze assets and achieved a large net recovery on a multi-million dollar fraud loss. He also organized the Toronto legal team that represented a major creditor in the Canada 3000 insolvency. He has given evidence in the United States as an expert witness on Canadian banking law, letters of credit and international law, and has managed litigation in England, the United States, the Caribbean Islands, Bermuda and Korea. He has extensive experience at trial, at all levels of appeal, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada, and at court-directed mediations and private dispute resolution.

Sample Case Decisions

• Acting for a multi-billion dollar investment manager to seek dismissal of a $50 million action for alleged misconduct.
• For twelve financial institutions, judgment was obtained as lead counsel for loans payable by hundreds of investors in the aggregate amount of approximately $40,000,000. Numerous defences were defeated including alleged breaches of the Securities Act, misrepresentations by the promoter, breaches of the lenders’ internal loan practices, breaches of fiduciary and other duties of care and allegations that the financial institutions were bound as agents for the promoter’s wrongdoing. Judgment in favour of the financial institutions was upheld on appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal and on further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Re Mastercraft)
• For four Canadian chartered banks, claims against them were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds in several actions brought by investors who were Names at Lloyd’s of London. The actions claimed injunctions restraining payments of $35,000,000 on letters of credit on grounds of fraud. (Ash v. Corporation of Lloyd’s).
• For eight Canadian financial institutions, judgment was obtained for $35,000,000 at trial and at the Ontario Court of Appeal in actions to obtain indemnification from former Names at Lloyd’s of London for payment made by the banks on letters of credit issued in favour of Lloyd’s. (Bank of Montreal v. Mitchell)
• For twelve Canadian financial institutions, a large recovery was achieved on a multi-million dollar loss on a complex credit card fraud.
• For a Canadian chartered bank, the successful dismissal of a $17,000,000 claim made by its customer for lost profits and damages caused when the Bank denied access to a US$20-million deposit in the customer's account for failure to comply with the Bank's anti-money laundering security procedures. An appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal is pending. (Independent Multi-Funds Inc. v. Bank of Nova Scotia)
• For a Canadian trust company and a Canadian chartered bank, judgement was obtained at trial for approximately $15,000,000 on loans payable by investors in an action defended on grounds of equitable set-off arising from the promoter’s breaches of its obligations to the investors. An appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal is pending. (Place Concorde East Limited Partnership v. Shelter Corporation of Canada)
• For a Canadian chartered bank, judgment was obtained at trial and at the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada on claims for more than $15,000,000 from individual investors on loans borrowed to invest in condominium developments built by a developer named Reemark. Twelve separate defences were defeated including issues raised under the Securities Act, fiduciary duties, Banker’s duties of care and close connection. (Bank of Montreal v. Anisman; Bank of Montreal v. Abrahams)
• For a multi-billion dollar investment manager, a large oppression remedy claim by a minority shareholder was successfully resolved.
• For a Canadian chartered bank, a large recovery was made on an $11,000,000 fraud loss from an American casino, where the stolen funds were gambled by the bank’s employee, after an injunction was obtained in Ontario to freeze a portion of the fraud proceeds. (CIBC v. Molony)
• For a trust company, successful defence on a $7,500,000 claim alleging negligent management of mortgage loan advances and breach of fiduciary duty. Gowlings represented the trust company at trial and through to a successful settlement before the appeal was reached at the Court of Appeal. (Transamerica Life v. Hutton)
• For a Canadian chartered bank, the successful dismissal of various actions seeking aggregate damages of approximately $7,000,000 against it as agent for its affiliate investment dealer, Nesbitt Burns. It was alleged against the Bank that it was liable for negligent advice given by Nesbitt to its customers. (.Ontario Ironworkers v. Nesbitt Burns)
• Successful resolution of a $5,000,000 fraud claim in an action involving cross-allegations of deceit and wrongdoing in a shareholders’ dispute, following the court-appointment of a fraud inspector pursuant to the OBCA. (D’Aloisio v. Grossi)
• For a prominent trust company, judgment for recovery of $4,000,000 in an action where the defendants refused to repay investment loans on grounds that the trust company should be liable for alleged misconduct by the promoter and for non-compliance with the . (Household Realty v. Dirks)
• Successful dismissal of a $2,000,000 shareholder dispute where the trial judge accepted defence testimony that audited financial statements were incorrect and could not be relied upon to prove the plaintiff’s claim. (Newscorp v. Nedcorp)
• For a Canadian chartered bank, a claim was successfully asserted against a major investment dealer and the Bank’s customer for wrongly converted stocks pledged to the Bank as security for personal loans of $1,400,000. The dealer unsuccessfully claimed prior security for margin loans advanced to the same customer.
• For BMO, judgment recovering $1,220,000 in an action where the defendants alleged fraudulent calls upon a series of letters of credit and sought injunctive relief to prevent payment on those letters of credit. (ATL Industries v. Han Eol Ind. Co. and Bank of Montreal)
• For a Canadian chartered bank, recovery of $750,000 on unpaid loans made to a corporate customer. Counterclaims were dismissed against the bank of $5,000,000 for alleged misrepresentations, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of collateral agreements. (CIBC Mortgage Corporation v. Dawkins)
• For a Canadian chartered bank, judgement at trial against a customer for $604,000.00 owing on promissory notes and dismissing a counterclaim for $1.1 million brought by its customer (Bank of Montreal v. Witkin)
• For a prominent trust company, $550,000 was recovered on investment loans borrowed by investors in a condominium development. The investors’ defences of alleged misrepresentations by the developer, equitable set-off, and breaches of the Securities Act were rejected at trial and on appeal. (Armstrong v. R.J. Nicol Homes Limited)

Bruce writes and speaks frequently on current issues in his practice areas. He has been the contributing editor to Butterworths’ six-volume service, Canadian Forms and Precedents – Banking and Finance. He also edits Gowlings Alert – What’s New in Banking Litigation, an e-mail publication that keeps clients up to date on the latest developments in the field.

His articles and presentations include:

• "Fraud – Legal Remedies in Civil Courts" presented at the Association of Certified Forensic Investigators of Canada Fraud Workshop Tools of the Trade (9/6/2005)
• "Emerging Remedies for Breach of Fiduciary Duty," a client seminar presented to BNS Legal, (9/18/2002)
• "Class Actions Against Banks," a client seminar presented to Bank of Montreal Legal Division (7/10/2002)
• "Fraud and Documentary Credits The Lloyd's Letters of Credit Cases" (Part 1), National Banking Law Review, Butterworths, February 1999; (Part 2) (4/4/1999)
• 4th Annual Forum on Banking Litigation – "The Latest Developments in Loan Defences," The Canadian Institute, (2/9/1999)
• "Piercing the Corporate Veil: Has the Ontario Court of Appeal Opened the Floodgates?" Legal Works Corporate Brief, CCH, Co-authored with Nicholas E.J. Dietrich. (1/5/1999)
• "Investment Loans and Loss Reduction," National Banking Law Review, Butterworths, December 1998; Finance Bulletin, Smith Lyons (1/31/1999)