• Criminal investigations and proceedings, involving corporations as well as directors, officers and employees, including immunity and leniency applications
• 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 or 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 who 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 Reviewand was recently described in GCR's Country Survey: Canada 2010 as "arguably the best competition litigator Canada has to offer.". She is named in the 2010 Chambers Global's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers for Business as a #1 leading lawyer in Canada in Competition/Antitrust: Litigation, Global Competition Review's The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2010 and The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers and Economists 2010, and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2010 in the area of Competition/Antitrust. Ms. Kay is also recognized by Lexpert as a leading practitioner in the areas of competition litigation and class action litigation. She was named in the 2010 Lexpert/American Lawyer's Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and is ranked in the PLC's Cross-border Competition Handbook 2010.

Representative Matters

A sampling of Stikeman Elliott's recent competition litigation mandates:

• Commissioner of Competition v. Air Canada et al. (2011) Ontario (acting for Air Canada in its response to the Commissioner of Competition's application to the Competition Tribunal opposing the proposed Canada-U.S. cross-border joint venture with United Continental Holdings. The case is the first challenge under the civil competitor collaboration provisions added to the Competition Act in the 2009 amendments.)
• Hi! Neighbour Flooring Covering Co. v. Future Foam (2011) Ontario and British Columbia (acting for defendant in class actions alleging price-fixing of polyurethane foam.)
• Fanshawe College v. LG Philips LCD et al. (2011) Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec (acting for defendants in three provinces in proposed class actions alleging price-fixing conspiracy in LCD panels and products. Contested certification motion has been argued and is under reserve).
• Fairhurst v. DeBeers S.A et al. (2010) British Columbia (jurisdictional challenge in competition class action).
• Commissioner of Competition v. Canadian Real Estate Association (2010) Ontario (acted for CREA in a case alleging abuse of dominance in the market for residential real estate brokerage services. The Commissioner alleges that CREA, by virtue of its ownership of certain MLS® trademarks, has abused its dominant position. The case was resolved in late 2010. It involved a number of groundbreaking legal issues, including the interplay between intellectual property and competition law).
• Foster v. Briggs & Stratton et al. (2010) Ontario and Quebec (acting for defendant in proposed misrepresentation and conspiracy class action).
• 2038724 Ontario Limited et al. v. Gordon Food Services et al. (2010) Ontario (a franchise class action brought by franchisees alleging anti-competitive conduct with respect to distribution arrangements in place between Quiznos as franchisor and GFS as distributor. Defendants defeated certification before the motion judge, the Divisional Court (first level of appeal court in Ontario) overturned and certified the case, and a decision which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2010. The defendants have sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
• SunRype v. Tate & Lyle (formerly AE Stayley) et al (2010) British Columbia (acted for defendant in class action alleging price-fixing conspiracy in respect of high fructose corn syrup).
• Park Avenue Hair Salon v. Solvay America Inc. et al (2010) Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia (acted for defendants in class actions in three provinces alleging price-fixing conspiracy in hydrogen peroxide. Also represented Solvay in the criminal matter.)

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Recent Group Activities

Competition partner participates in ABA conference
Katherine Kay spoke on "Canadian Cartel Law: Canada Raises the Stakes" at the International Cartel Workshop presented by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law and the International Bar Association, held February 1-3, 2012, in Vancouver.

Competition partner quoted in Corporate Counsel Magazine
Shawn Neylan advises foreign investors to develop communications strategy and build relationships with government leaders to avoid having transactions caught in political crossfire in Corporate Counsel Magazine's article, "The Changing Relationship of Canadian Business and Foreign Investors".

Competition lawyers host breakfast seminar
Lawson Hunter, Katherine Kay and Susan Hutton are hosting "Communications with Your Competitors and Trade Associations: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You", on Thursday, February 16, 2012 in Ottawa.

Competition article published in Law Business Research guide
Competition litigators Eliot Kolers and Danielle Royal co-authored the "Canada" chapter in The Private Competition Enforcement Review, published by Law Business Research Ltd., (London: 2011), discussing private antitrust litigation activity in Canada.

Toronto litigators to speak at Class Actions Conference
Stikeman Elliott is proud to sponsor, and Alan D'Silva, Katherine Kay, and Adrian Lang will be speaking at the 12th Annual Forum on Class Actions Litigation, by The Canadian Institute, September 20 - 22 in Toronto. Stikeman Elliott clients can receive a registration discount; see brochure.

Air Canada and United Continential - Commissioner of Competition
The firm represents Air Canada in its response to the Commissioner of Competition's application to the Competition Tribunal opposing the proposed Canada-U.S. cross-border joint venture with United Continental Holdings. The case is the first challenge under the civil competitor collaboration provisions added to the Competition Act in the 2009 amendments.
Legal team: Katherine Kay, Eliot Kolers, Mark Walli, Jeffrey Brown, Ashley Weber

Class Actions Group launches its blog: CanadianClassActionsLaw.com
The Class Actions Group is pleased to announce the launch of its Canadian Class Actions Law blog, the latest addition to its blog network. The blog features information and resources on relevant legal developments in class actions law including, certification, settlements, appeals, judicial treatment of common causes of action, judicial treatment of class proceedings legislation, secondary market liability claims and securities class actions, and consumer protection, product liability, competition class actions and more!  Sign-up today for regular updates, via email or RSS, at www.CanadianClassActionsLaw.com or follow us on Twitter @CdnClassAction.

Competition/Antitrust Group wins GCR award
Stikeman Elliott 's Competition/Antitrust Group has won the GCR 2011 award for " M&A Transaction of the Year " regarding their work in the United Air Lines and Continental Airlines merger last year (United's competition legal team: Lawson Hunter and Susan Hutton).

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.

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