Overview
Peter is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Goodmans. His practice focuses on assisting clients with a wide variety of litigation and arbitration proceedings involving complex commercial and financial transactions, mergers and acquisitions disputes, and securities matters. He has successfully tried to verdict a ten-figure damages award for his client, and has successfully defended cases in which his client was facing ten figure damage exposure. An experienced trial and appellate lawyer, Peter has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, the Quebec Superior Court (Commercial Division), the Federal Court, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, as well as Law Society of Ontario discipline panels.
He regularly appears before the Toronto Commercial List of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in high profile commercial matters involving shareholder activism and corporate governance, director and officer liability claims, civil fraud, proceedings to enforce foreign judgments, insolvency proceedings, plans of arrangement and fiduciary obligations disputes. Peter has been counsel in four cases that have been recognized as top cases of the year.
Peter is recognized as a “leading partner” by The Legal 500 Canada in Dispute Resolution: Ontario, as “repeatedly recommended” by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in Litigation – Corporate Commercial, and as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation Canada. He is also featured in the Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation and in Best Lawyers in Canada for Corporate and Commercial Litigation.
Prior to practice, Peter was a law clerk to former Supreme Court Justice Louise Charron.
Peter is fluent in French.
Expertise
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Appellate Advocacy
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Arbitration - Domestic and International
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Corporate and Commercial Litigation
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Corporate Governance and Stakeholder Litigation
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Energy
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Insolvency Litigation
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Litigation and Dispute Resolution
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Mergers and Acquisitions
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Professional Liability
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Regulatory, Administrative and Public Law
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Securities Litigation
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Shareholder Activism
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White Collar Defence and Investigations
Featured Work
Peter’s representative work includes acting for:
- Browning West LP in a proxy contest that replaced the entire board of Gildan Activewear Inc., including successfully responding to a claim by Gildan in the Quebec Superior Court
- Marathon Petroleum Canada as lead counsel in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion toll application before the Canada Energy Regulator
- An Italian industrial company as lead counsel in a commercial claim brought in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench regarding an oil sands project
- Cargill in contested motions in Tacora Resources Inc.’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings, including regarding the approval of debtor-in-possession financing and the availability of a reverse vesting order
- An energy company as lead counsel in a judicial review application seeking to invalidate certain offshore oil and gas exploration permits
- Cineplex Inc. as lead counsel in its successful claim against Cineworld Group, plc and a subsidiary for damages for wrongful repudiation of a merger agreement; the decision was recognized as the Commercial Litigation Case of the Year at the 2022 Canadian Law Awards
- an intervener in two appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the interpretation of Ontario’s anti-SLAPP legislation
- a crypto asset trading platform that was investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for allegations of breaches of the Ontario Securities Act and Commodity Futures Act, which involved a precedent setting settlement as it was the first time the OSC settled allegations against a crypto asset platform
- Chevron Canada Limited in a successful summary judgment motion, upheld on appeal, that dismissed an action that had sought to enforce a US$9.5 billion Ecuadorian judgment for alleged environmental pollution, now a seminal Canadian case on corporate separateness
- Hudbay Minerals Inc. in a proxy contest that successfully defended a proceeding by a dissident shareholder that sought adjournment of a shareholders’ meeting
- Paulson & Co. Inc. in a proxy contest, including successfully responding to a claim by Detour Gold Corporation alleging insider trading and tipping
- BDC, a Crown corporation, which was a plaintiff in an action for damages for fraudulent misrepresentation where $44 million in damages were awarded following a 16 day trial in which 15 witnesses, including experts, testified
- the Court-appointed Monitor of Nortel Networks in various matters in its proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, including successfully opposing leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario from an order allocating $7.3 billion in sale proceeds following a joint trial before the Ontario and Delaware courts; the decision was recognized by Lexpert Magazine’s Top 10 Business Cases of 2016
- Chevron Canada Limited in motions and appeals to stay proceedings on the basis of lack of jurisdiction; the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision was recognized by Law Times’ Top Cases of 2015
- Sun Indalex Finance, LLC in a successful appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada that overturned a decision distributing reserve funds to pay a pension deficit; the decision was recognized by Lexpert Magazine’s Top 10 Business Cases of 2013
- an individual director of a reporting issuer in an appeal to the Ontario Divisional Court from decisions of the Ontario Securities Commission involving violations of the Securities Act
- Look Communications Inc. in a successful defence against three proceedings seeking advances of legal fees from the company that was suing its former officers and directors for breaches of fiduciary duties
- Copper Mesa Mining Corp. and two of its directors in successfully having struck three actions seeking over $90 million for alleged human rights abuses in Ecuador
Awards & Recognition
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The Legal 500 Canada Leading Individual, Dispute Resolution: Ontario 2025
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Corporate and Commercial Litigation 2025
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The Legal 500 Canada Next Generation Partner, Dispute Resolution: Ontario 2024
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Benchmark Canada Future Star 2024
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory Recognized, Litigation - Corporate Commercial 2024
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Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation Canada's Leading Litigation Lawyers 2023
Credentials
Professional Involvement
Peter acts as a mentor to junior litigation lawyers as well as summer and articling students at Goodmans. He regularly teaches on a variety of topics, has guest lectured at the University of Toronto and the McGill University Faculty of Law, and has been an adjunct professor teaching Business Organizations at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law to its Global Professional Masters students. He has also written numerous articles for legal publications.
Credentials
- Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B., 2006
- McGill University, B.A., 2002, Honours
Professional Affiliations
- Law Society of Ontario
- The Advocates’ Society
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
Call to Bar
- 2007 Ontario
Insights
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Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Climate Change Suits Against the Government: Mathur v. Ontario Appeal Decision
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has released its appeal decision in Mathur v. Ontario involving a lawsuit by youth applicants challenging as inadequate Ontario’s legislated targets and plans for… -
Capital Markets
Delaware Court Finds Advance Notice Bylaw Amendments Unenforceable, But Denies Relief Based on Dissident Shareholders’ Deceptive Conduct
The Supreme Court of Delaware’s recent decision in Kellner v. AIM ImmunoTech Inc. provides important guidance on the limits of a board’s authority to amend an “advance notice” bylaw in the context of… -
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
No “Magic Words” Required: Supreme Court of Canada Holds Exclusion Clauses Released Seller From Implied Statutory Conditions
On May 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc., 2024 SCC 20, which clarifies how contractual exclusion clauses are to… -
Competition and Foreign Investment
International Comparative Legal Guide - Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 2024, Canada Chapter
Peter Kolla, Julie Rosenthal and Sarah Stothart co-authored the Canada Chapter of International Comparative Legal Guide - Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 2024. The Canada chapter covers common… -
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Director Duties and Climate Change
Decisions earlier this year from the English courts in ClientEarth v Shell Plc et al., and the recent appeal decision from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, shed light on climate change issues… -
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
The Courtroom Climate, Best Lawyers
In Best Lawyers’ recent 2023 Business Edition, Peter Kolla explores justiciability, and other limitations Canadian Courts face when trying climate change cases. Excerpt from "The Climate…
News & Events
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Banking and Financial Services
Goodmans Once Again Receives Top-Tier Recognition from The Legal 500 Canada
We are pleased to announce Goodmans LLP has once again received top-tier recognition from The Legal 500 Canada in their 2025 Guide released today.Recognition from The Legal 500 is based on independent… -
100+ Goodmans lawyers recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada: 2025 Edition
We are delighted to share Goodmans has once again been recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada with 105 lawyers featured across 43 practice areas.Congratulations to Andrew Brodkin… -
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Goodmans Recognized in the 2024 edition of Benchmark Litigation Canada
We are proud to announce that we have once again been recognized in the 2024 edition of Benchmark Litigation Canada.16 Goodmans lawyers have been recognized as being the country’s most…