Christopher D. Bredt  

Chris Bredt is a senior litigation partner practising in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Chris practises civil litigation, with an emphasis on commercial disputes, anti-piracy actions, corporate restructuring, directors' and officers' duties and liabilities, shareholder, oppression and other corporate disputes, class actions, constitutional, Aboriginal and administrative law issues. He is the chair of BLG's National Public Law Group.

Chris has appeared as counsel before all levels of the courts in Ontario, and before the Federal Court of Appeal, British Columbia Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Canada, and numerous administrative tribunals, including the Ontario Securities Commission.

Chris joined BLG in 1984, and became a partner 1988; he was seconded to the Government of Ontario from 1989-93, where he served as Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of Federal Provincial Relations and as Assistant Deputy Minister, Constitutional Policy and Special Counsel. Prior to joining BLG, Chris was law clerk to Mr. Justice McIntyre of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1979-80, and was a stagiaire with the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State) in Paris, France, in 1983.

Chris is bilingual. Since 2008, Chris has served as an elected as a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

• Re Cadillac Fairview, et al. – acted as counsel for the Teachers' Pension Plan in its takeover of Cadillac Fairview and the resultant plan of arrangement proceedings.
• Ford v. OMERS, et al. – acting as counsel for OMERS, Mackenzie Financial, and other dissenting shareholders in a dissent and appraisal proceeding in connection with the privatization of Ford Canada.
• Millard, et al. v. M.R.S. Trust, et al. – acted on behalf of M.R.S. Trust in defending a class action suit arising out of a failed investment. The litigation included complex certification issues, and an innovative settlement arrangement that included bar orders precluding cross-claims.
• Enfield v. Montréal Trust, et al. – acted as counsel for Enfield in an action arising out of the improper purchase of shares by the company's pension plan during a contested takeover. Issues include the duties and liabilities of pension fund trustees, investment dealers and officers and directors of public companies.
• Fischer, et al. v. Bahnman, et al. – acted on behalf of the former officers and directors of Tee-Comm in a class action which raises issues relating to directors' and officers' fiduciary duties.
• Lavigne v. OPSEU – acted on behalf of Merv Lavigne in a landmark constitutional case which challenged the use by unions of compelled dues for political and ideological purposes.
• Kay v. Posluns – acted at trial for James Kay in a shareholders dispute over the control of Dylex.
• Twiggco v. KPMG Peat Marwick – acted on behalf of KPMG in an auditors negligence case.
• Reference re Canada Assistance Plan – acted on behalf of the Government of Ontario before the B.C. Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada in connection with changes to the Canada Assistance Plan.
• Famous Players Development v. Capitol Life – acted on behalf of Capitol Life and its Canadian subsidiary in an action which raised issues of conflict of interest and the enforceability of a mortgage.
• Acted on behalf of the Ontario Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Commission on numerous applications for judicial review.
• Possian v. Canadian Olympic Association – acted on behalf of the Canadian Olympic Association in a breach of copyright/passing off action.

• Author, Freedom of Expression and the Media:  Cases and Materials (2 vol.), Osgoode Hall Law School, 2012 (with Prof. J. Cameron).
• Speaker, "Recent Developments in the Law of Judicial Review," The Canadian Institute's Fundamentals of Administrative Law & Practice Conference, April 2012 (with Christiaan A. Jordaan).
• Speaker, "The Standing of Administrative Tribunals on Judicial Review," Law Society of Upper Canada, The Six Minute Administrative Lawyer, February 2010 (with Cara Zwibel).
• Speaker, "R. v. Bryan: The Supreme Court and the Electoral Process," Osgoode Hall Law School 2007 Constitutional Cases Symposium, April 2008 (with Margot Finley); now published in (2008), 42 SCLR (2d) 1.
• Speaker, "Tribunal Guidelines: Fettering or Structuring Discretion," The Canadian Institute, 7th Annual Advanced Administrative Law & Practice Conference, October 2007 (with Morgana Kellythorne).
• Speaker, "Breaking the Law's Grip on Equality:  A New Paradigm for Section 15," Osgoode Hall Law School, 2002 Supreme Court Constitutional Cases Symposium, April 2003 (with Adam Dodek); (2003), 20 Supreme Court Law Review  (2d) 33; cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Kapp, 2008, SCC 41.
• Speaker, "How to Conduct an Anton Piller Order Search and Seizure," 2008 Investigative and Forensic Accounting Conference, October 2008.
• Speaker, "Creditors & The Oppression Remedy: A Flexible Tool," Insight Information Conference: Dealing with Dissent and Oppression, Actions and Remedies, September 2007 (with Court Peterson).
• Speaker, "Secondary Market Disclosure: What You Need to Know About Danier Leather," Osgoode Hall Law School, Canadian Securities Law Update 2007, January, 2007 (with Heather Pessione).
• Speaker, "Remedies for Past Oppression: Implications of the Ford Case," OBA Continuing Education Seminar: Litigating under the OBCA, May 2006 (with Morgana Kellythorne).

• Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2013 edition (and since 2006) of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Administrative and Public Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation).
• Recognized in Benchmark Canada – The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys (Class Actions, Commercial Litigation).
• Recognized in the 2013 edition of Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Commercial Litigation).
• Recognized in the 2012 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Litigation – Corporate Commercial, Litigation – Directors' and Officers' Liability, Litigation – Public Law).
• Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ 5 out of 5 Peer Review Rated.