Stikeman Elliott's competition litigators represent national and international clients in a variety of competition litigation matters, including:
- Criminal investigations and proceedings, involving corporations as well as directors, officers and employees
- Defending class actions, which are typically commenced on a national basis mirroring similar U.S. actions and often following Canadian criminal investigations
- Representing clients who are a merging party, or who oppose a particular merger, both in dealing with the Competition Bureau, and then before the Competition Tribunal, on a contested or consent basis
- Defending clients in contested proceedings before the Competition Tribunal in which allegations of anticompetitive conduct and violations of consumer protection measures in the Competition Act are made by the Commissioner of Competition or, under recent and proposed amendments to the Competition Act, by private individuals in certain areas
- Making or responding to complaints to the Competition Bureau regarding anti-competitive behaviour in a particular marketplace
- Commencing or defending private actions or applications brought under the Competition Act and under the common law in which anti-competitive conduct is alleged
Stikeman Elliott's competition litigators have unmatched experience in all of these areas and the strategic judgment and outstanding advocacy skills to secure the best possible results for our clients. We have highly skilled competition litigation counsel who understand the ins and outs of Canadian antitrust law and the practice and approach of the regulatory authorities and are well-known to the Competition Tribunal and courts at all levels and in all jurisdictions. Our litigators work very closely with our colleagues on the solicitors' side of Canadian antitrust practice, and members of our competition group draw on the experience and judgment of the litigation team on a daily basis.
Katherine Kay heads the Group's competition litigation practice and is lead counsel on a broad range of cases dealing with all aspects of competition law, including criminal defence work, class and other civil actions, mergers, abuse of dominance and other reviewable matters before the Competition Tribunal. Ms. Kay has been recognized as one of the "100 Women in Antitrust" in the world by the Global Competition Review. She is ranked in Chambers and Partners' Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2007, is also listed in Legal Media Group's 2007 Guide to the World's Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers; in Law Business Research's 2007 International Who's Who of Business Lawyers and 2007 International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers. Ms. Kay is also recognized by Lexpert as a leading practitioner in the areas of competition litigation and class action litigation. She was recently named as one of the "25 Litigators to Watch" in the Lexpert/American Lawyer 2006 Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, is named in the Best Lawyers in Canada for 2006, and is ranked in the Practical Law Company's Cross-border Competition Handbook 2007.
Representative Matters
A sampling of Stikeman Elliott's recent competition litigation mandates:
- Pro Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG. et al. (2008) Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia (successfully defeated certification on behalf of the defendants in proposed class proceeding in B.C. alleging price-fixing conspiracy in computer chips. The certification motion in Quebec is presently being heard; the motion in Ontario has not yet been scheduled).
- Commissioner of Competition v. Lakeport Brewing et al.(2007) Competition Tribunal (acted for Lakeport Brewing in an application brought under section 100 of the Competition Act to prevent closing for a 30 day period. Competition Tribunal issued an order dismissing the Commissioner's application and the transaction closed on schedule).
- 2038724 Ontario Ltd. v. Gordon Food Service (Ontario) acting for defendants in class action brought by franchisors alleging price maintenance and conspiracy in respect of the supply of food and products to franchisees.
- SunRype v. Tate & Lyle (formerly AE Stayley) et al. (British Columbia) acting for defendant in class action alleging price-fixing conspiracy in respect of high fructose corn syrup.
- Drover v. Sears Canada Inc. (Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan) acting for defendant in class actions in three provinces alleging misrepresentation relating to the sale of tires.
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Recent Group Activities
Partners author Canadian chapter
Katherine Kay and Randall Hofley have authored the Canadian chapter in the third edition (2009) of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Competition Litigation; published by Global Legal Group Ltd., London.
Litigation Group successful in defeating certification motion in British Columbia
Stikeman Elliott's Litigation Group was successful in defeating certification of a proposed class action in British Columbia alleging price-fixing in silicon memory chips (known as DRAM). Click here to read more.
#1 in Cross-Border Litigation
Lexpert has named 10 Stikeman Elliott lawyers among Canada's premier cross-border litigators. The firm has more lawyers listed than any other firm in the Corporate Commercial, Class Actions and Securities area. 
E-Discovery & Document WEBCAST Available
On December 11, 2007, Stikeman Elliott's Litigation and Technology Groups presented a seminar entitled E-Discovery & Document Management. Request a copy of the material.
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