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WWW.LEXPERT.CA
Valasek, Martin J. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
(514) 847-4818 martin.valasek@nortonrosefulbright.com
Mr. Valasek's international practice embraces both commercial and investor-
State arbitration (including NAF TA Chapter 11), in sectors such as aerospace,
construction, forestry, mining and energy. He also advises on cross-border
litigation matters.
Thornton, Robert I. Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP
(416) 304-0560 rthornton@tgf.ca
Mr. Thornton, an IIC Director, is named "Lawyer of the Year" in the 2018
edition of Best Lawyers in Canada. Euromoney's The Best of the Best 2016
recognized him as one of the top five insolvency and restructuring lawyers
in Canada, while Chambers Global ranks him as a Band 1 Leading Individual
in Restructuring. He is described as "a leading light" and "one of the most
innovative in the field."
Thomson, Mary M. Gowling WLG
(416) 862-4644 mary.thomson@gowlingwlg.com
Ms. Thomson serves as head of Gowling WLG's National Litigation & Dispute
Resolution Group in Canada. She represents clients in high-profile product
liability class actions and mass tort litigation (pharma and medical devices)
as well as in health law, consent law privacy law.
Thomson, Kent E. Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
(416) 863-5566 kentthomson@dwpv.com
Mr. Thomson has been recognized by Lexpert and others as one of Canada's
leading litigation counsel. He has acted in numerous precedent-setting trials
and appeals, including on a number of occasions in the Supreme Court of
Canada. He specializes in complex, high-stakes commercial litigation. He is a
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy
of Trial Lawyers.
Thacker, Lawrence E. Lenczner Slaght Royce
Smith Griffin LLP (416) 865-3097 lthacker@litigate.com
Recognized as one of Canada's leading trial and appellate counsel, Mr.
Thacker has extensive experience and a proven track record in complex
and cross-border litigation, including mergers and acquisitions, securities
disputes, class actions, commercial litigation and arbitrations, insolvency
and restructuring, and intellectual property cases.
Tenai, Steve J. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
(416) 216-4023 steve.tenai@nortonrosefulbright.com
Mr. Tenai's practice includes class action, securities, commercial,
oppression, take-over and privacy litigation. He also represents companies
and/or their directors and officers in internal and regulatory investigations.
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
million (including prejudgment interest), which is
the largest reported award in a Canadian patent in-
fringement case.
Nova has filed an appeal of Justice Fothergill's in-
itial decision.
Steve Garland, Jeremy Want. Colin Ingram, Dan-
iel Davies and Kevin Graham of Smart & Biggar,
with Ryan Evans of DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, act-
ed for the plaintiffs, e Dow Chemical Company,
Dow Global Technologies Inc. and Dow Chemical
Canada ULC.
Robert MacFarlane, Michael Charles, Andrew
McIntosh, Adam Bobker, Michael Burgess and
Jerry Chen of Bereskin & Parr LLP acted for the
defendant, Nova Chemicals Corporation.
ORPHAN WELL ASSOCIATION
V. GRANT THORNTON
DECISION DATE: APRIL 24, 2017
In a landmark appeal decision released on April
24, 2017, the majority of the Alberta Court
of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Alberta
Energ y Regulator (AER) and Orphan Well As-
sociation (OWA) of the May 2016 decision of
the Honourable Neil Wittmann, Chief Justice
of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in the
Redwater Energ y Corp. (Redwater) receivership
and bankruptcy proceedings.
In its decision, the majority of the Alberta Court
of Appeal held that Grant ornton Ltd., the re-
ceiver and trustee in the Redwater Energy Corp.
receivership and bankruptcy proceedings, was en-
titled to disclaim Redwater's non-producing oil
wells and sell its producing ones.
Redwater is a junior oil and gas producer that
went into insolvency in the spring of 2015. Some
of Redwater's oil wells are valuable, while others
might be considered "orphans" because the costs
of environmental remediation required to abandon
them exceed the value of those wells. Redwater's
trustee in bankruptcy wanted to renounce or dis-
claim Redwater's interest in the orphan wells, but
keep and sell the valuable wells to maximize the re-
covery of the secured creditor. e Alberta Energy
Regulator argued that that was not permissible, and
that a sufficient portion of the sale proceeds from
the valuable wells should be set aside to meet the ex-
pected costs of remediating the orphan wells.
e decision of the Alberta appellate court dis-
missed the appeals of the AER and the OWA, who
had argued that Chief Justice Wittmann erred in
finding that Grant ornton should not have to
carry out the abandonment, reclamation and re-
mediation obligations of Redwater's non-producing
wells, or perform abandonment orders as issued by
the AER, which included paying a security deposit.
Specifically, the majority of the Court of Appeal
(comprising the Honourable Mr. Justice Frans Slat-
ter and the Honourable Madam Justice Frederica
