Partner
"Trial verdicts boldly proclaim 'It's over!' Appeals whisper 'Not quite.'"
An appellate and insurance litigator with more than 60 reported decisions in the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Chris Morrison has a 25-year career in appeals and civil litigation, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for his work in personal injury litigation since 2023.
As an appellate lawyer, Chris has argued many multi-million dollar civil appeals, including the largest wrongful-death award for general damages in Canadian history. His appeals in the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada have become part of the established jurisprudence on tort liability and insurance, and he has more than 60 reported decisions.
His insurance work spans general liability, cyber, environmental, builders risk, wrap-up liability and professional negligence, for a roster of national institutional and international clients, alongside counsel work for other lawyers. By nature a problem-solver, he has been retained on complex construction defect claims, products liability, class proceedings and coverage disputes. Under his joint stewardship of the firm's defence practice, the firm has been recognized as one of the Best Law Firms in Canada for insurance by the Globe and Mail, and the subrogation practice he leads has recovered millions for insurers.
Chris is a respected speaker in both the plaintiff and insurance bar, and has authored papers on class proceedings, evidence, insurance law and product liability. He has been an invited speaker for the Canadian Institute, the Canadian Defence Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice and the Ontario Bar Association.
Chris works across three areas:
A selection of Chris's reported decisions. Each links to the judgment on CanLII.
Successfully defended a medical malpractice judgment on appeal; the Court of Appeal upheld the findings on standard of care and causation arising from a failure to act on updated diagnostic information after discharge.
Defended a costs and prejudgment interest award of nearly $1 million on appeal; the Court of Appeal affirmed the broad trial-level discretion and rejected the proportionality challenge.
Upheld a jury award of over $1.5 million in a TTC bus collision case; the Court of Appeal dismissed challenges to the jury questions and instructions.
Defended the dismissal of a $16 million consequential loss claim arising from a 2010 gas explosion; the court found no compensable economic loss.
Successful on complex procedural motions in long-running explosion litigation; the court rejected the tactical challenges and awarded substantial costs.
Defended St. Paul Fire and Marine in a $19 million settlement dispute.
Quashed an arbitration in a $14 million claim relating to a transformer fire.
Upheld the largest general-damages award for wrongful death in Canadian jurisprudence.
Upheld an $11.5 million verdict in a medical malpractice claim won at first instance by his partner Paul Cahill.
Upheld the dismissal of a $10 million fire-loss claim.
Defended a $10 million fire-loss claim against an insured.
Upheld one of the largest general-damages awards in Canada for soft-tissue and psychological injuries from a motor vehicle accident.
Upheld a multi-million dollar product liability verdict against Dow Corning.
Upheld the exclusion of a multi-million dollar pollution claim for the Dominion.
Defended an electrician in a multi-million dollar electrical fire claim.
Overturned a trial decision dismissing a claim against a sexual abuser; a leading case on abuse of process.
Quashed an appeal by Janssen-Ortho in a class proceeding relating to substitution of parties.
Argued in support of a novel tort of regulatory non-compliance against a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a class proceeding.
Overturned a trial decision that had found the Red Cross liable for the distribution of contaminated blood.
Argued one of the leading causation cases in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Part of the team that certified the first reverse class proceeding in Ontario.
From the blog
Notes and commentary on appeals, insurance and civil litigation.
The defence was universally successful on a hard-fought set of motions in Avedian v Enbridge Gas Distribution, including the plaintiff’s bids to strike the defences and to recuse the trial judge. The court awarded $195,000 in costs, well above the usual range for a motion, and its reasons are a clear reminder of the price unnecessary and tactical motions impose on clients and the court.
The Team
Chris works with a law clerk in the firm's Toronto office, your day-to-day point of contact on a file.
Eduarda Tavares
Law Clerk
Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP
For an appeal, a coverage dispute, or complex civil litigation, Chris brings 25 years of appellate and insurance experience and a record of more than 60 reported decisions. He also acts as counsel to other lawyers. The first conversation is straightforward and without obligation.
Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP · 220 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto · dcmlaw.ca