Robert B. Bell

Specialty Risk and Insurance Lawyer

Phone:

416.601.2374

Fax:

416.867.2435

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Professional History

Noteworthy Cases

Recent Rankings and Recognitions

Selected Presentations/Publications

Professional Memberships

Community Memberships

Professional History

Partner, Lerners LLP (2015 - present)
Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (1986 - 2015)

Noteworthy Cases

Volkswagen TDI Class Actions – Lead defence counsel on national class proceedings
General Motors Class Actions – Lead defence counsel on national class proceedings re Ignition Switch, EPS, Antifreeze, Takata Airbag
Carroll-Byrne et al. v. Air Canada et al.– Class proceeding resulting from March 29, 2015 crash at Halifax. Acting for the defendant, Nav Canada
Ramdath George Brown College – Class proceeding. Acted as trial and appellate counsel for the defendant George Brown; new law in consumer protection and aggregate damages developed
Abdulrahim et al. v. Air France et al. – Class proceeding arising out of crash of Air France flight at Toronto. Acted for the defendant Goodrich
ONHWP Chevron et al. (1999), 46 OR (3d) 130 (Ont. Gen. Div.) (Winkler, J.) – Bar Order in class action settlement
Cloud Canada (Attorney General) (2004), 2 CPC (96th) 199 (Ont. CA) – Class proceeding involving residential schools
Sauer Canada (Attorney General), 2007 ONCA 454 – Class proceeding - Appeal with respect to pure economic loss issues
Celanese Canada Inc. v. Murray Demolition Cor. et al. (2006), 269 DLR (4th) 193 (SCC) – Successful appeal to Supreme Court of Canada in respect of solicitor client privilege and disqualification of counsel in context of Anton Piller order
Ticketnet Air Canada (1997), 154 DLR (4th) 271 (Ont. CA) – Leave to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed, leading decision on damages in favour of a start-up company
Pettey Avis (1994), 13 OR (3d) 725 – Decision at trial on validity of Mary Carter agreement
Cougar Helicopters Inc. v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (2011), 335 DLR (4th) 203 (NLCA) – Jurisdiction issues in product liability case
Murphy Welsh – Stoddard v. Watson, [1993] 2 S.C.R. 1069 – Supreme Court of Canada decision on solicitor’s negligence claim application of Highway Traffic Act limitation period to claims of infants and mental incompetents

Recent Rankings and Recognitions

Recognized as a leading Canadian lawyer in Who's Who Legal: Product Liability Defence
Lawyer of the Year, Product Liability Law - Toronto, Best Lawyers in Canada (2020)
Martindale-Hubbell AV constant Pre-eminent 5 out of 5 Peer Review Rating
Recognized in Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - Class Actions; Litigation–Commercial Insurance; Litigation–Product Liability; Aviation Law (2013-2022)
Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada - Appellate Practice, Aviation Law, Class Action Litigation, Corporate and Commerical Litigation, Director and Officer Liability Practice, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation [Defendants; Product Liability]; Product Liability Law [Defendants]
Ranked in Chambers Canada - Litigation: Product Liability (2015-2022)
Recognized in Benchmark Canada – The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as a “Litigation Star: Ontario” and a “Litigation Star: Product Liability” (2015-2020) and "Litigation Star: Appellate and Dispute Resolution" (2020)
Recognized in Who’s Who Legal (2012-2021). Rob Bell is identified as "a talented litigator" with experience in handling some of the most prominent aviation and automotive class action cases in recent Canadian history
Recognized in The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada - Product Liability (2013-2017, 2019-2020)
Recognized as a leading Canadian lawyer in the Lexpert Special Edition on Litigation Lawyers
Recognized as a leading Canadian cross-border litigator in the Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigators (2013- 2017)
Recognized as the exclusive winner in the “Product Regulation & Liability” category for Ontario by the Client Choice Awards 2016 (Lexology)
Nominated by peers and appeared as a leading practitioner in the Litigation and Product Liability Expert Guide, published by Legal Media Group and invited to write a published article on recent Product Liability Developments in Canada (2016)
Recognized in Best Lawyers as “Product Liability Lawyer of the Year” (2013)
Recipient of the 2014 Advocates’ Society Excellence in Teaching Award for an outstanding contribution both in the classroom and to the profession overall

Selected Presentations/Publications

“Telling the Story: Executing a Persuasive Cross-Examination of the Key Witness at Trial” in Todd L. Archibald, ed, Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2020 (Toronto: Thomson Canada Limited, 2020)
Co-Chair, “Winning Body Language for Litigators”, The Advocates’ Society, June 2022
Presenter, "The Current State of Solicitor-Client and Litigation Privilege", The Civil Litigators Survival Guide to Evidence, Osgoode Professional Development Program, January 2022
Co-Chair, “Summer Trial Advocacy College”, The Advocates’ Society, June 2021
Panelist, “Cross-Examination:Strategies for Success”, The Advocates’ Society, March 2021
Co-Chair, “Train the Trainer”, The Advocates’ Society, November 2020
Presenter, "Expert Evidence: How It Can make or Break Your Case", The Civil Litigators Survival Guide to Evidence, Osgoode Professional Development Program, November 2020
Co-Chair, "Class Actions Advocacy", The Advocates' Society, June, 2019
Author and presenter, numerous papers on class actions, product liability, the auto industry, and evidence law
Presenter/Faculty: Advocacy Training Programs - The Advocates’ Society, Law Society of Ontario and the Osgoode Professional Development