WILLIAM L. NEVILLE
Arbitrator & MediatorA. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
• B.A. (St. Michael's College - University of Toronto): 1971 • J.D. (Osgoode Hall of York University): 1975 • B.A. (Theology) University of Ottawa (Saint Paul University): 1980 • M.A. (Theology) University of Ottawa: 1981
B. PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
• March 2004 to present: Arbitrator; Mediator
• June 1994 to Feb. 2004: associated in the practice of law with Low, Murchison • 1986-1994: Associate: Blaney, McMurtry, Stappells (Ottawa Office) which, in 1989,
became an independent Ottawa partnership McGovern Roine. • 1985-1986: Associate: Cogan & Cogan - Ottawa, Ontario • 1981-1985: Associate: Miller Maki - Sudbury, Ontario • Call to the Bar of the Province of Ontario: 1977
C. AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
• Arbitration • Mediation
D. SYNOPSIS OF LEGAL EXPERIENCE
William L. Neville acted - over a 22 year span - as litigation counsel (barrister) in a myriad of commercial disputes involving: feuding partners or shareholders, commercial landlords and tenants, financial institutions and their customers, franchisors and franchisees. His experience extended to both complicated mortgage and real estate litigation. In construction disputes, he acted, at one time or another, for every party in the construction pyramid: owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and mortgagees.
During the years 1996-2007, Mr. Neville was also certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in bankruptcy and insolvency law and, as such, Mr. Neville was frequently consulted to provide advice in commercial restructurings and bankruptcy and insolvency matters. (He has been a contributor to both the Commercial Insolvency Reporter and to the
National Insolvency Review: Canadian bi-monthly publications that explore and analyze significant issues and developments in the insolvency area.)
E. ADR EXPERIENCE
From 1997 onward, Mr. Neville has been obliged to meet an ever-increasing demand to assist parties as a third party neutral: either by determining their dispute as an arbitrator or working with the parties, as a mediator, toward a mutually acceptable solution.
Mediation: As evidenced by Table 1, below, Mr. Neville has conducted hundreds of mediations in a wide variety of cases in English, in French and in both official languages. These mediations can be categorized as follows:
Table 1
Types of Mediations conducted as of: Dec. 31, 2013
Banker-Customer, Dr-Cr and Insolvency 28
Contract or Quasi-contractual Disputes (not including construction) 119
Construction Disputes 193
Defamation: Libel & Slander 8
Employment including Workplace Interventions 101
Environmental Contamination 29
Estates/Fiduciary duty claims 14
Financial Advisors: Claims Against 40
General Negligence Claims 93
Insurance: claims against Insurers (other than LTD or SAB) 19
Landlord-Tenant Disputes (Commercial) 19
Long Term Disability Claims 68
Municipal: claims against or by municipalities 11
Corporate/Partnership/Shareholder/Oppression claims 31
Personal Injury claims from Auto Accidents including SAB claims 132
Real Estate including condominium claims 22
Sexual Abuse or Sexual Interference Claims etc. 28
Solicitor’s Negligence 9
Miscellaneous 3
Total 967
Arbitration: Mr. Neville has presided various types of full-blown arbitration hearings as set out in Table 2, below, where he has had to make factual determinations and issue written reasons on claims, interest and costs:
Table 2
Dispute Description # of Days
The design-build of a municipal sewage treatment plant 50 The construction of a governmental solid waste facility 36
The construction of an embassy complex 34
The expansion of a regional detention centre 16
The renovation of a county bridge 12
A dispute between clients and their law firm over professional fees 8 A dispute between a home owner and a custom home builder 7 A commercial dispute in Toronto between 2 contracting parties in the entertainment
industry
6 A contractual dispute between a contractor and a commercial developer 5 A landlord-tenant dispute between a municipality and a commercial tenant 5 A cost-sharing dispute between 2 developers re: infrastructure costs and the right to
restitution
5 A contractual dispute between a developer and a cost consultant 5 A dispute between 2 insurers under the Ontario Insurance Act 4
A landlord-tenant dispute as to a tenant’s proportionate share of the rent 3 An employment dispute between a university and a professor 2 A dispute between a landscaping/ snow removal contractor and an owner 2 A dispute between a commercial tenant and its landlord over a restrictive covenant 1 A dispute between 2 lawyers and LawPro re insurance premiums 1
A dispute between 2 partners in a business 1
In addition to full-blown hearings, Mr. Neville has had to hear motions and issue arbitral rulings in a variety of interlocutory matters, and also issue written rulings mid-hearing as described in Table 3, below:
Table 3
Interlocutory Motion Description/ Relief Sought Requesting/Requiring The Arbitral Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) to rule on its own jurisdiction
The Tribunal to dismiss a party’s arbitral claims
The Tribunal to stay a portion or all of an arbitration proceeding on the basis of issue estoppel The Tribunal to strike all or a portion of a party’s pleading
The Tribunal to grant partial summary judgment
The Tribunal to substitute another for the party representative sought to be examined for discovery The Tribunal to rule on refusals to answer at examinations for discovery or for satisfaction of undertakings
The Tribunal to award costs in respect of certain of these above motions Written Rulings during Arbitration Hearings
The admissibility of documents not previously disclosed in a party’s Affidavit of Documents The admissibility of business records where an Evidence Act notice was not previously served The competency of a witness to testify
Whether a witness should be qualified as an expert
The admissibility of certain read-ins from examinations for discovery
Mr. Neville is also an approved Independent Third Party Reviewer for both Canada Revenue Agency and for Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
F. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES • The Law Society of Upper Canada
• The Canadian Bar Association: including its Ontario subsections in relation to ADR and Business Law
• L'Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario • The ADR Institute of Canada
• The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (U.K.)
• 1997-2005: Sessional Instructor, Insolvency Section, of the Ontario Bar Admission Course (in French and in English)
• 1999-2000: Sessional Instructor, Civil Litigation Section on “Mediation”, Ontario Bar Admission Course
• sometime contributor to the Commercial Insolvency Reporter and to the National
• former member of the editorial board of the National Insolvency Review
• 1988 and 1989: Part-time Professor, uOttawa Faculty of Law: teaching Ontario Civil Procedure to second and third year law students
• Sometime lecturer on ADR: (1) Telfer School of Management, uOttawa: Master of Business Administration program; (2) uOttawa Law School.
• 1999 and 2001: Member of the Board of Examiners for the Superintendent of Bankruptcy at Ottawa for candidates presenting themselves (both in French and English) for their oral comprehensive exams in order to obtain their licenses as Trustees in Bankruptcy
• an approved Independent Third Party Reviewer for Canada Revenue Agency and for Canadian Food Inspection Agency for workplace disputes.
G. PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
• Rated “BV” by Martindale-Hubbell: defined by Martindale-Hubbell as being “an indication
of an exemplary reputation and well established practice. A typical attorney is in mid-career with a significant client base and high professional standing”
• Accredited by the ADR Institute of Canada as both a “Chartered Arbitrator” and a “Chartered Mediator”
• An International Mediation Institute Certified Mediator. H. AVAILABLE TO ARBITRATE OR MEDIATE IN:
• Claims by or against governments: federal, provincial, municipal • Claims for breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Commercial Disputes • Construction Claims
• Debtor-Creditor Disputes (including Banker - Customer issues) • Defamation cases
• Environmental Contamination Cases • Estate claims
• Equitable Claims
• Partnership, Shareholder or Franchiser - Franchisee Disputes • Employer - Employee or Workplace Disputes
• Insurance Disputes, including claims for long term disability benefits or statutory accident benefits
• Intellectual Property Disputes • Occupiers’ Liability cases
• Professional Negligence Claims against: Accountants, Architects, Dentists, Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Stockbrokers
• Personal Injury Claims
I. PUBLICATIONS/LECTURES
• "Remedies for the Insolvent Debtor" Carleton County Law Association - Civil Litigation Update 1991
• "The Crown bound?" (1993), 5 Comm. Insol. R. 67
• "The Bloom off the Rose - Fine's Flowers Reversed" (1994), 6 Comm. Insol. R. 49 • "Bray Distinguished in McDonough" (1994), 6 Comm. Insol. R. 50
• “I Guarantee It!” (1995), 8 Comm. Insol. R. 16
• “The Sparrow has landed!” (1997) 9 Comm. Insol. R. 40
• “Fair Fruit Punch: or judiciously blending and equitably doling out the remaining apples and
oranges” (1999) 16 Nat. Insol. Review 57
• “The PPSA and Tracing Proceeds: Show me the money!”(1999),16Nat. Insol. Rev. 87 • “Personally Liable… Who’s on the hook for what? – The Supreme Court of Canada and the
Bulk Sales Act” (2003), 20 Nat. Insol. Rev. 64
• “So you don’t like paying your taxes, eh? [Two-timers and Tax-driven bankruptcies]” (2006), 23 Nat. Insol. Rev. 33
• “Faithful Watchman or Trojan horse?” (2006), 23 Nat. Insol. Rev. 39
• “The Utility of Med-Arb in Resolving Residential house Cases”: Vol. 23, No. 2: OBA Construction Law Section’s Nuts and Bolts (Nov. 2008) newsletter.
• “The Expert Witness: True Guru or Wizard of Oz”: Vol. 17, No. 2: OBA Civil Litigation Newsletter (Dec. 2008).
• “Med-Arb Revisited: Resolving contract-based conflict”: Vol. 17., No. 2 OBA Alternate Dispute Resolution Newsletter (March 2009).
• “To Stay or Not to Stay: The OCA and S. 7 of the Arbitration Act, 1991” Vol. 17, No. 3 OBA Civil Litigation Newsletter (June 2009).
• “Ontario Judicial Intervention in the Arbitral Process Strictly Limited” (2010), 76 Arbitration pp. 365-367.
• “Enforcement of Foreign Awards in Canada: Yugraneft Corp. v. Rexx Management Corp.” (2010), 76 Arbitration pp. 764-768.
• “The Pros and Cons of Arbitration (Subtitle: Arbitration can be a good thing if you think about it)”: Carleton County Law Association 2011 Solicitors’ Conference.
• “Facing the Enigma: Mediation and the Troubled Partnership” (2012), 78 Arbitration pp. 15-18.
• “Arbitration: The Myths, The Benefits, The Pitfalls, The Buzz”: November 2013 presentation and paper to The Department of Justice, Government of Canada.
• “Signals”: article contributed to Mediation for Civil Litigators by Hollander, John: Irwin Law (Toronto: 2013).
• “What Drive Parties in Partnership Cases?”: article contributed to Mediation for Civil Litigators by Hollander, John: Irwin Law (Toronto: 2013).
Fluently bilingual, Mr. Neville practices as an arbitrator and as a mediator in both French and English.
