Andrew Morrison
Contact (Vancouver)
Direct: (604) 891-1307
Email: amorrison@shieldsharney.com
Legal Assistant: Kritisha Nandan (604) 891-1330
knandan@shieldsharney.com
Andrew is an experienced commercial litigator who has provided candid and effective advice to clients of all sizes for more than twenty years.
He has achieved a high rate of success in both trial and appellate decisions. Andrew is closely involved in all the matters he accepts and has a 91% overall success rate in more than 100 reported decisions, with an 86% success rate in trials and a 92% success rate on appeals.
He has achieved a similar success rate for summary judgments and petitions he has prepared and argued for his clients, to obtain a positive result at an early stage and without the stress and expense of a trial.
Andrew has a varied practice. Andrew appears in many courts and tribunals including the B.C. Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is well-known for litigating disputes concerning real estate and commercial contracts, and has substantial experience handling matters involving shareholder rights, partnerships, commercial leases, employment relationships, the collection of judgment debts, conflicts of interest, fee disputes between lawyers and clients, and civil procedure.
Andrew is also an experienced mediator and arbitrator and is regularly selected by other lawyers to resolve disputes involving their clients. He facilitates the resolution of disputes which involve modest to millions of dollars. He has also acted as arbitrator.
Andrew is a sought-after speaker who is regularly asked to speak at Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLEBC) and Canadian Bar Association (CBA) events. He has also been a guest speaker to law students at the Allard School of Law at UBC.
Andrew has been recognized as one of the top commercial litigation lawyers in BC by Chambers & Partners and Best Lawyers.
Practice Areas
Commercial Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Appeals
Mediation & Arbitration
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2020/2020scc29/2020scc29.html?autocompleteStr=crystal%20square&autocompletePos=1 – Andrew represented Urban Development Institute – Pacific Region at the Supreme Court of Canada in the leading decision on the principles to be applied to determine when a corporation is bound by a contract made before it was incorporated.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2020/2020bcsc1730/2020bcsc1730.html?autocompleteStr=Oswald%20v%20start%20up&autocompletePos=1 and https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2021/2021bcca352/2021bcca352.html?resultIndex=2 – Andrew successfully argued that a short Letter of Intent was a binding contract that required the counter-party to buy the client’s shares for more than $3 million. The buyer appealed and the BC Court of Appeal quoted from the factum Andrew wrote in its decision dismissing the appeal.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2021/2021bcsc1289/2021bcsc1289.html?autocompleteStr=bogner%20kerr&autocompletePos=1 – A developer attempted to revise a strata plan to the prejudice of an owner of a strata unit. Andrew convinced the court to dismiss the developer’s application and pay the strata unit owner’s costs.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2010/2010bcca300/2010bcca300.html?autocompleteStr=chameleon&autocompletePos=1 and https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2011/2011bcca210/2011bcca210.html?autocompleteStr=pinto%20&autocompletePos=1 – In two separate cases, Andrew was able to convince the BC Court of Appeal that a pre-sale contract for a strata unit was unenforceable due to a lack of disclosure. These decisions are regularly referred to when courts are asked to decide whether to enforce a pre-sale contract for a strat unit.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2019/2019bcsc85/2019bcsc85.html?resultIndex=1 andhttps://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2020/2020bcca17/2020bcca17.html?resultIndex=2 – Andrew assisted the seller of a property to recover an award of damages equal to the amount of an unpaid real estate deposit. The BC Court of Appeal definitely confirmed that a seller could claim a real estate deposit from a buyer who decided not to complete a purchase – even if the deposit had not been paid.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2021/2021bcsc119/2021bcsc119.html?resultIndex=2 andhttps://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2021/2021bcca93/2021bcca93.html?resultIndex=1 – Andrew persuaded the court and the BC Court of Appeal not to reinstate the lease of a tenant who had evicted a tenant for failing to pay its rent, which would have forced the landlord to break its lease with its new tenant.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2021/2021bcsc2235/2021bcsc2235.html?autocompleteStr=iannello&autocompletePos=3 - Andrew obtained the dismissal of a claim against a mortgage broker almost immediately after it was filed – even before it had to file a defence.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2007/2007bcsc1693/2007bcsc1693.html?autocompleteStr=carr%20v%20dorset&autocompletePos=1 – Andrew obtained the dismissal of a corporate oppression claim. This decision regularly referred to because it confirmed that a corporate oppression claim must be commenced promptly.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2022/2022bcsc24/2022bcsc24.html?resultIndex=1 – Andrew obtained a order forcing a litigant to disclose communications with its counsel that it claimed to be privileged.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2019/2019bcsc2437/2019bcsc2437.html?autocompleteStr=grech&autocompletePos=2 – Andrew represented a realtor when his client withheld payment of his commission and obtained an order forcing the payment of a commission in excess of $200,000.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2019/2019bcsc975/2019bcsc975.html?autocompleteStr=maclean%20v%20ze&autocompletePos=1 – Andrew represented a lawyer during a lengthy fee review and successfully argued that the fee charged by the lawyer (in excess of $500,000) should not be reduced at all.
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2019/2019bcsc2331/2019bcsc2331.html?resultIndex=1 – Andrew represented a law firm that had compromised their fee to settle a client complaint. Andrew convinced the court to dismiss the client’s effort to review the fees charged by the law firm despite the settlement agreement.