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Eric J. Adams, LL.M.

Partner

Eric joined Dutton Brock in 2009 following his call to the Ontario Bar and became a partner in 2017. His practice focuses on insurance coverage disputes, defence and subrogation, including product liability, personal injury, professional liability, disability, first-party property and transportation. He completed a Master of Laws on insurance coverage litigation and has published numerous articles and papers in industry and peer-reviewed journals on insurance related topics. He regularly attends the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on interlocutory matters and has appeared as trial counsel in courts and tribunals in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Eric is also a member of the Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of British Columbia.
Eric sits on the Canadian Defence Lawyer’s Insurance Coverage Law committee and has chaired the CDL’s annual insurance coverage symposium.

Education

Eric earned a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Calgary (2003), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Victoria (2006) and a Master of Laws from the University of British Columbia (2009). Eric served as a student representative on both the University of Victoria Law Students Society and the University of British Columbia Graduate Law Students Society.

 

Awards

During law school, Eric was awarded a number of course awards and scholarships, including the Law Foundation Entrance Award, the John McAlpine Prize in Civil Liberties and the Om Radsady Asia-Pacific Studies Award.

Lectures

Symposium Chair, The Seventeenth Annual Insurance Coverage Symposium, Canadian Defence Lawyers, May 2021

Symposium Chair, The Sixteenth Annual Insurance Coverage Symposium, Canadian Defence Lawyers, February 2020

Symposium Chair, The Fifteenth Annual Insurance Coverage Symposium, Canadian Defence Lawyers, February 2019

“Additional insured coverage and unanswered questions following Carneiro v. Durham”, The Thirteenth Annual Insurance Coverage Symposium, Canadian Defence Lawyers, February 2017

Insurance Coverage Foundations & Fundamentals (conference chair), Canadian Defence Lawyers, November 2016

“Making the Most of Your Covenant to Insure: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Additional Insured Clauses”, Ontario Risk and Insurance Management Society’s Professional Development Day, March 2013

“SIRs, Deductibles and the Importance of Policy Language,” Risk & Insurance Management Society, The Ontario Chapter’s One-Day Conference, March 2011

 

Publications

“Mixed results:  allocation between ‘mixed’ defence costs and uncovered defence costs following Carneiro v. Durham”, Canadian Journal of Insurance Law, Vol. 34, May 2016

“Drawing a Distinction between Indemnity Provisions and Covenants to Insure,” Canadian Journal of Insurance Law, Vol. 33, No. 1, January 2015

“Costs Still Follow the Event,” Toronto Law Journal, July 2013

“Duty to Defend: Insurer attempts to discharge its duty by tendering it limits”, The Lawyers Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 25, November 4, 2011

“Driving Limitations That Drive Defendants Crazy,” Toronto Law Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, February 2011

“The Test for Intentional Interference with Economic Relations: Two Recent Court of Appeal Decisions,” OBA Civil Litigation Section Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 2 – Jan. 2011

“Progressive Homes Ltd. v. Lombard General Insurance Company of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada’s Revitalization of the ‘Complex Structure’,” OBA Insurance Law Section Newsletter, December 2010

“Eastern Power Ltd. v. Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation – Assessing the Quantum of Damages Based on Inherently Complicated or Highly Technical Evidence”, OBA Civil Litigation Section Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 1 – Sept. 2010

Brian Brock, Q.C. and Eric Adams, “Litigating Tort Claims in the Shadows of Coverage Disputes”, The Lawyers Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 6, June 11, 2010

“The Flexibility of Description and NESS Causation”, Journal of Philosophy, Science & Law, Volume 10, April 2010

Brian Brock, Q.C. and Eric Adams, “The Insurer as Statutory Third Party”, The Oatley-McLeish Guide to Motor Vehicle Litigation, The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2010

Chris Dunn and Eric Adams, “Pierringer, Mary Carter and Partial Settlement Agreements” Practical Strategies for Settling Cases: The 98% Solution, Tricks of the Trade 2010, The Advocates’ Society, February 2010

“The Definition of ‘Accident’ and the Unspoken Useful Purpose Test in Canadian Coverage Cases”, Dalhousie Law Journal, Vol. 32:2, Fall 2009

Eric is a member of:

  • The Canadian Bar Association
  • The Ontario Bar Association – Insurance Section
  • The Advocates’ Society
  • The Canadian Defence Lawyers Association
  • The Medico-Legal Society
  • The Defence Research Institute
  • The Toronto Lawyers Association
  • The DRI Insurance Law Committee

Candoo Excavating Services Ltd. v. Ipex Inc. 2023 ONSC 4828

Workman Optometry Professional Corporation v. Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company 2023 ONSC 336

Brown v. Sovereign General Insurance Company 2021 ONSC 511

Atomic Energy of Canada v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance 2019 ONSC 643

Smartcentres Management Inc. v. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada 2018 ONSC 7189

Atomic Energy of Canada v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance 2018 ONSC 4382

Atomic Energy of Canada v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance 2018 ONSC 906

Hansra v. Greater Toronto Airport Authority 2017 WSIAT 2760

Arnold v. Dyte 2017 WSIAT 634

Atomic Energy of Canada v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance 2017 ONSC 4124

Shvartsman v. Ontario (Liquor Control Board) 2016 ONSC 5948 (Ont. Div. Ct.)

Alitalia-Compagnia Aerea Italiana S.p.A. v. 1791949 Ontario Ltd.  2015 ONSC 6890, 2015 CarswellOnt 17204 (Ont. Div. Ct.)

Flood v. Martineau 2015 CarswellOnt 16287 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Pol Bodetto v. Eastman 2015 ONSC 5577, 2015 CarswellOnt 14718 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Shvartsman v. Ontario (Liquor Control Board) 2015 ONSC 3559, 2015 CarswellOnt 8308 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Pantaleo et al. v. Wood et al. 2015 ONSC 1850, 2015 CarswellOnt 3983 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Xu (Litigation guardian of) v. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. 2014 ONCA 805, 2014 CarswellOnt 15959 (Ont. C.A.).

Amello v. Bluewave Energy Limited Partnership 2014 ONSC 4040, 2014 CarswellOnt 9298 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Bronfman v. BFL Canada Risk and Insurance Services Inc. 2014 ONSC 1748, 2014 CarswellOnt 4881 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Xu (Litigation guardian of) v. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. 119 O.R. (3d) 587, 2014 ONSC 167, 2014 ONSC 167, 2014 CarswellOnt 4605 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Bronfman v. BFL Canada Risk and Insurance Services Inc. 2013 ONSC 5372, 2013 CarswellOnt 15480 (Ont. S.C.J.)

Machado et. al. v. Winners Merchants Inc. et. al. 2013 CarswellOnt 5823; [2013] O.J. No. 2223.

Exotic Car Customs and Sales v. Jevco Insurance Co. et. al., [2013] docket SC-10-00000050 unreported] (Ont. S.C.J.)

McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. et. al. v. Mary Harrison et. al. 2012 CarswellOnt 14825; 223 A.C.W.S. (3d) 41

McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. et. al. v. Mary Harrison et. al. 2012 CarswellOnt 12675, [2012] O.J. No. 4818; 222 A.C.W.S. (3d) 401

Eric lived and worked as an intern in 2007 in a small farming community in Baja Verapaz, Guatemala with La Asociación Bufete Jurídico Popular compiling Spanish language legal and historical materials for submission to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

During law school, Eric was extensively involved in college radio, programming and hosting live weekly radio broadcasts to the Greater Victoria region.

Eric has also participated as a volunteer judge in the annual OBA Secondary School Mock Trial Tournament.

Assistants

Patricia Cinnirella

Law Clerks

Sherry Gaete