Lawyer Profile
Trevor R. McDonald
Calgary, Alberta
Overview
Intensive Trial Advocacy Course, Osgoode Hall, York University, 2005 University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Laws, 1999 University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Commerce, Honours, 1995 Bar admission: Ontario 2001 and Alberta 2007
Counsel for a guarantor in the defence of an action for an alleged $40MM deficiency arising from the receivership and liquidation of a group of sales and leasing companies. The Court held that the guarantor was not precluded by res judicata, issue estoppel or abuse of process from raising various defences at the trial of the guarantee action, including breach of fiduciary duty, economic duress, and breach of the duty of good faith. Those defences had not been expressly or impliedly adjudicated in the insolvency proceedings, and the lender should not be granted summary judgment.
Counsel to a pharmacy group in the successful defence of an injunction application seeking to prevent them from competing by soliciting the clients of their former employer. The Court held that the employer had failed to make out a strong case for breach of fiduciary duty or breach of confidence. (GG & HH Inc. v 2306084 Alberta Ltd., 2022 ABQB 58).
Counsel to a real estate developer in a successful application to discharge a caveat and Certificate of Lis Pendens from title to its lands, which were holding up a construction project.(1704455 Alberta Ltd v. Sage Property Development Inc., 2020 ABQB 776).
Counsel for a homeowner who was sued by the City of Calgary, which claimed ownership of a portion of her front yard under a decades-old road plan that had inadvertently not been registered at Land Titles. The Court held that the road plan could not defeat or supersede the innocent homeowner's indefeasible title to her property. The Court also awarded the homeowner full indemnity for her legal costs. (Calgary (City) v. Teulon, 2021 ABQB 388, 2021 ABQB 501)
Counsel to a plaintiff in an occupiers' liability trial, which found that the City of Calgary had breached the Occupiers' Liability Act by failing to have adequate security measures in place at a Light Rail Transit station and connected Plus 15 walkway on New Year's Eve. The failure to have adequate surveillance camera placement and quality, sufficient lighting, an effective video monitoring system, or sufficient peace officer patrols, contributed to an unsafe environment. This prevented Transit employees from observing or detecting a serious and prolonged series of assaults against the plaintiff, deploying peace officers or Calgary Police to intervene, or taking other steps to mitigate the harm. (McAllister v. Calgary (City), 2018 ABQB 480). The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal, subject to a clarification concerning the time within which the City ought reasonably to have detected and responded to the assault. (McAllister v. Calgary (City), 2019 ABCA 214). On January 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the City of Calgary leave to appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal's finding of liability in McAllister v. City of Calgary.
Counsel to a junior oil and gas exploration company in the successful summary dismissal of an action based on an alleged breach of a confidentiality agreement, upheld by the Court of Appeal. (Beaumont Resources Ltd. v Cardinal Energy Ltd., 2017 ABCA 416).
Counsel to an oil and gas company in a successful appeal overturning a summary judgment order initially granted on the basis of exclusion clauses in the CAPP-CAODC Master Daywork Contract. (Yangarra Resources Ltd. v Precision Drilling Canada Limited Partnership, 2017 ABCA 378).
Practice Areas
Bar Information
Called to the bar: 2007 (AB); 2001 (ON)