Alex Zavaglia Partner


Speaks:  English

Year of Call: 2009 - Ontario

Primary phone: +1 416-369-7298

Fax: +1 416-862-7661

Email: alex.zavaglia@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Toronto



Alex Zavaglia

Alex Zavaglia is a partner practising in Gowling WLG's advocacy department, handling matters in the following areas:

  • Securities litigation (civil and regulatory), including misrepresentation claims, shareholder disputes, illegal distributions and fraud
  • Cyber security related litigation including misrepresentation claims arising from inadequate risk disclosure or incident reporting
  • Class action defence
  • General commercial litigation including contract disputes, tort claims (including defamation)
  • Competition/antitrust litigation

Alex has worked on class action files related to price-fixing conspiracy, securities-related misrepresentation and negligence claims. He has also represented clients who were the subjects of regulatory investigations related to fraud, illegal distributions and insider trading. Alex is part of a number of project teams that monitor new developments in competition and securities litigation, and provide analysis on trends in both competition and securities regulation, as well as class action suits in Canada and the United States.

Alex has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Securities Commission. 

Alex is a member of The Advocates' Society, the Ontario Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association.

Career & Recognition

Filter timeline:
  • 2009

    • Qualifications (Year of Call/Admission, etc.)
       2009
      Year of Call, Ontario
    • Education
       
      University of Toronto Law School, JD
    • Education
       
      York University, BA Hons.

Presentations

  • "The State of Say on Pay Votes in Canada", The Advocates' Society 5th Annual Securities Law Symposium, Toronto, September 10, 2015.

Articles

  • "Cyber security compliance burdens increase for Canadian investment dealers and advisers," Gowlings, October 2017
  • "Dollars for dialing: OSC proposes to pay whistleblowers," Gowlings, April 2015
  • "Supreme Court rules that the leave test in securities class actions is a 'robust deterrent'," Gowlings, April 2015
  • "Have Bench, Will Travel..." Toronto Law Journal, April 2015
  • "Punitive Damages and Ontario's New Secondary Market Liability Regime," Toronto Law Journal, May 2013

Representative Work

  • Hep C Class Action - Appeared before all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada in a matter involving the proper administration of a pan-Canadian settlement in a billion dollar plus national class action.
  • Poseidon Class Actions – Defending Poseidon and its directors and officers against class actions and multiple other actions in which shareholders assert both primary and secondary market claims arising  from the company's announcement that approximately $100 million in revenue was improperly recognized. Class actions were commenced in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and New York. The Poseidon litigation also involves CCAA proceedings and regulatory proceedings.
  • Greenstar Class Action – Defending four former officers and directors of Greenstar against a class action in Ontario alleging misrepresentation in its offering documents. A settlement was reached.
  • Penn West Class Actions – Defended Penn West Petroleum and a number of current and former directors and officers of the company against multiple shareholder class actions in Canada. A parallel class action was commenced in the United States. Shareholders claimed to have suffered damages as a result of a drop in the stock price that occurred after the company announced, among other things, that it would be restating some of its financial statements. The actions were settled following a mediation attended by parties in all actions, including the U.S. action.
  • Armtec Class Actions – Defended a publicly traded infrastructure company and its directors and officers in class actions commenced in Ontario and Quebec by primary and secondary market investors for approximately $100 million. The plaintiffs alleged that the prospectus and certain public statements contained misrepresentations about the sustainability of the company's dividend. A settlement was reached through mediation.
  • Successfully appealed decision recognizing and enforcing Letters Rogatory issued out of the Southern District of New York. Ontario Court of Appeal allowed appeal which protected Canadian company from having to disclose certain financial information. (Actava TV, Inc. v. Matvil Corp., 2021 ONCA 105).
  • Appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal, and successfully reversed a custodial sentencing decision for an individual charged with breaching Ontario securities laws.