Martin Smith
Managing Partner - Ottawa Office
Martin Smith
Managing Partner - Ottawa Office
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Ottawa
- msmith@mccagueborlack.com
- 613.566.5970
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613.569.3882
-
Bar Admission:
2001
PROFILE
Martin is the managing partner of the firm’s Ottawa office, which was launched in September 2012.
Martin exclusively practices civil litigation, and as the chair of the firm’s Employment Law and Human Rights Practice Groups, he predominantly represents employer clients but also routinely represents employee clients.
Martin's other areas of expertise include Professional Liability, Insurance Law, Occupiers’ Liability, Municipal Law, and Animal Law. He regularly works with clients with self-insured retentions and assists insurers in advancing subrogated claims.
He has appeared before the Ontario Labour Board, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, the Ontario Health Professions Board, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Featured Cases (See Firm Cases below for those with published case studies)
- Lumipro Inc. ats. Maxrelco, 2018 ONSC 3638
- Cameron J. Beach Sales Ltd. ats Sankreacha, 2018 ONSC 7216
- Cameron J. Beach Sales Ltd. ats Sankreacha, 2019 ONSC 1313
EXPERTISE
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Arts, York University - 1993
- LL.B, Osgoode Hall Law School - 1999
AFFILIATIONS
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
- The Advocates’ Society
- County of Carleton Legal Association
- Skate Canada's Board of Directors, Director at Large - 2020 to 2022
FIRM CASES
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Out of Court Settlements & Union Grievances - Case Comment: Gervais v. Ottawa (City)
When settlement occurs in one forum, is an employee within their rights to pursue a claim in another?
Allegations are Subject to Higher Scrutiny When Made Against Personal Defendants
In Matlock v. Ottawa-Carleton Standard Condominium Corporation, McCague Borlack LLP's Martin Smith, on behalf of the Defendants, successfully opposed the Plaintiff's motion to amend his Statement of Claim to enhance his claim against the individual board member Defendants and add an additional board member as a party. In response, the Defendants also advanced a crossclaim striking the claims against the board member Defendants in their entirety.
Victoria Mendes et al. v. Blaisdale Montessori School
In Mendes v Blaisdale Montessori School, the defendant, represented by Martin Smith, the managing partner of McCague Borlack's Ottawa office, successfully brought a summary judgment motion against the plaintiff, dismissing the claim in its entirety. The case was further dismissed on appeal.
This case concerns a four-year-old preschooler that was expelled from Blaisdale Montessori School for repeated misbehaviour. The mother of the child sued the school for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
PUBLICATIONS & SPEECHES
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An Employer's Right to Dismiss an Employee is not Absolute
The court found that the plaintiff was wrongfully dismissed from her employment because a provision contained in her employment agreement...
Now or Never - Limitations on Late Expert Reports
OVERVIEW: This action concerned a snowmobile accident that took place in 2014. The plaintiff served several expert opinion reports regarding the nature and extent of his injuries. The defendant did not serve any responding expert opinion reports. The matter was set down for trial twice, in 2019 and in September 2023.
In February 2023, the defendant requested the plaintiff's consent to extend the deadline for delivery of a defence medical examination...
Judge vs. Jury: Considerations for Medical Malpractice Cases
There has been a shift in attitudes towards juries in medical malpractice cases over time. In 1998, the America Medical Association, a professional association and lobbying group for physicians and medical students, explained their position as follows...