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Jeremy R. Rubenstein

Partner
Commercial Litigation, Insurance Defence, Personal Injury Litigation, Employment Litigation, Estate Litigation
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Lawyer

Jeremy R. Rubenstein

T 613-237-0520 x257
F 613-237-3163
Called To The Bar: 2014
Jeremy R. Rubenstein

Biography

Jeremy grew up in Ottawa, attended Dalhousie University for his undergraduate studies, and Queen's University for his law degree.  He then articled with Williams Litigation Lawyers before joining the team as an associate following his call to the bar in 2014. He is now a partner with the firm.

Jeremy appreciates that each client and each case is unique. He is meticulous in his investigation of the facts and also takes pride in his ability to identify with our clients' interests, which allows him to tailor sound, objective advice based on a client's particular needs.

Jeremy understands that a legal dispute may be unfamiliar for many people, and ensures that each client is aware of the process and is fully equipped with the knowledge necessary to make the difficult decision of how to proceed—be it by trial or a settlement.

Jeremy has worked on a variety of matters and disputes, including professional discipline/negligence, estate litigation, commercial litigation, insurance related litigation, administrative proceedings, property, contract, and employment. He has represented clients in hearings in a number of forums. Jeremy has appeared before several tribunals, including the License Appeal Tribunal and the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, and has appeared at all levels of Court in Ontario, from Small Claims Court to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

In his spare time, Jeremy spends time with his family, plays sports, and of course is a die-hard Ottawa Senators fan.

Credentials

  • J.D., Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (2013)
  • B.A. with distinction in Philosophy, minor in Law & Society, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (2010)

Professional Activities

  • Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada
  • Member of the Carleton County Law Association
  • Member of the Canadian Bar Association
  • Member of the Advocacy Club
  • Volunteer Duty Counsel - LawHelp Ontario / Pro Bono Law Ontario

Selected Cases

EM v The Canada Employment Insurance Commission (March 24, 2024)

Jeremy successfully represented our client in her appeal to the Social Security Tribunal of Canada
(General Division). Our client was denied employment insurance benefits a+er the Canada Employment
Commission accepted our client’s employer’s allegation that it terminated our client for “misconduct”.
The Tribunal agreed with Jeremy’s submissions and overturned the Commission’s denial of our client’s
employment insurance benefits.

Paquette v. Darwin Patterson, Estate Trustee of the Estate of Diane Gail Paquette,2023 ONSC 4062

Jeremy successfully represented the Estate Trustee in resisting the Plainti;’s motion for occupancy at
the deceased’s principal residence. The Court agreed with Jeremy’s submissions that the Plainti; did
not qualify as a “dependant” under the Succession Law Reform Act and held: “[the deceased] was not
providing support or under legal obligation to provide support immediately before her death”. The
Court agreed with Jeremy’s submission that the Plainti;’s evidence on the deceased’s support
obligations was sparse and awarded the Plainti; only $200/month in support, which was later
overturned on an appeal to the Divisional Court and the motion was dismissed in its entirety.

Hajrizi v Dempsey et al, 2021 ONSC 3082

Jeremy successfully brought a motion to compel the Plaintiff to post security for costs in this action against our client. The motion judge granted the motion after agreeing that the Plaintiff’s claim of impecuniosity was “completely unreliable” and the claim was “almost certain to fail” on the merits. The action was later dismissed on a motion for the Plaintiff’s failure to post the security that was ordered.

M.H. v K.G., 2020 CanLII 45697 (ON HPARB)

Jeremy successfully represented a physiotherapist against several complaints to the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario. The Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (“the Committee”) undertook a thorough review of the evidence and arguments of the parties, and was persuaded to take no action in relation to any of the complaints. The Applicant appealed the decision to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, which upheld the Committee’s decision upon appeal.

Hajrizi v Dempsey and Dominion Insurance (September 27, 2019)

Jeremy successfully represented one of the defendants against the plainti;’s motion for a further
discovery of our client. The Court agreed with Jeremy’s submissions that the a;idavit evidence the
plainti; relied on had several deficiencies, and that the plainti; was unable to show that the further
discovery being sought would be useful, reasonable, or proportionate. The motion against our client
was dismissed with costs.

Jennings v La Cite Golf Course (May 3, 2019)

Jeremy successfully represented the Defendant Golf Course against the Plaintiff who brought a motion
for an interlocutory injunction. The Plaintiff alleged that an unreasonable amount of golf balls were
landing on his property and brought a motion to the Court seeking an Order that the Defendant Golf
Course be prohibited from allowing golf balls from landing on his property, amongst other things. The
Court agreed with all of Jeremy’s submissions and dismissed the motion against our client. The Court
awarded costs to our client, which were nearly 3 times lower than the costs incurred by the Plaintiff in
bringing his unsuccessful motion.

Huang v. Fraser Hillary's Limited, 2018 ONCA 277 (CanLII)

Jeremy successfully resisted the proposed intervention by Ecojustice in the appeal of our Huang v Fraser Hillary’s Limited trial victory. Amongst other things, the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed that intervention as a friend of the Court was not appropriate because the appeal concerned a private dispute, the proposed intervenor’s submissions would not be helpful, and the proposed intervention would cause an injustice to our client.

Huang v Fraser Hillary Ltd and David Hillary, 2017 ONSC 1500 (CanLII)

Jeremy was co-counsel for the Defendant, David Hillary, on this environmental contamination case. Mr. Hillary was a homeowner that lived in a property beside a dry cleaning facility. Before Mr. Hillary purchased the property there were dry cleaning spills into the ground that sunk beneath the property Mr. Hillary later purchased. The Plaintiff sued the dry cleaning company and Mr. Hillary for the remediation costs of the contamination that flowed downgradient from these properties to the Plaintiff’s property. Our firm successfully defended our client at trial on all 4 causes of action (Nuisance, Negligence, Trespass and liability under s99 of the Environmental Protections Act) that were raised in relation to the flow of dry cleaning contamination. The trial judge dismissed the claim in its entirety against our client on this case where damages were assessed at $1.8M.

1168760 Ontario Inc. c/o R&R Realty et al. v 67006037 Canada Inc. and Denis Bertrand, 2017 ONSC 5149

Eric Williams and Jeremy Rubenstein successfully represented the Plaintiffs at trial in this matter. The Plaintiffs were the beneficiaries of a parcel of land that was being held in trust for them by one of the Defendants (who was also a beneficiary). The parcel of land was purchased and held for the purposes of being turned into a residential development in the future. However, the trustee Defendant sold the property to his son’s friend under suspicious circumstances and without the knowledge or consent of the Plaintiffs. Eric and Jeremy successfully argued that the Defendant trustee was in violation of his obligations as trustee, that he was a “fraudulent person” under the Land Titles Act, and that the Defendant purchaser was not a bona fide purchaser for value without notice. Of note, the Court accepted the Plaintiff’s interpretation of “fictitious person” under the Land Titles Act in finding that the vendor was a fraudulent person, which was the first time this term had been judicially considered in this context. Ultimately, the Court undid the fraudulent transaction, declared the Plaintiffs’ interests in the property, and ordered the rectification of the title of the property. 

Campbell Pools Inc. v The Seville Group, 2015 ONSC 2314 (CanLII)

Eric and Jeremy acted for the Plaintiff who brought an action for breach of contract in relation to the purchase and sale of property. The case involved issues of ostensible authority, whether a contract existed, the Statue of Frauds, the doctrine of part-performance, and the relatively new cause of action “proprietary estoppel”. Campbell Pools leased commercial land from the Defendant for many years until a heavy snowstorm destroyed his  leased premises. Under the lease, the Defendant was required to rebuild the destroyed structures. Campbell Pools negotiated with the Defendant’s agent to forego the Defendant’s obligations under the lease and part of the insurance proceeds received in exchange for the outright purchase of the lands. At trial, Eric and Jeremy successfully argued that the agent had ostensible authority to bind the Defendant, the agreement satisfied the Statute of Frauds despite being a ‘napkin agreement’, part-performance was established, and that, alternatively, the relatively new cause of action of “proprietary estoppel” applied. The Court awarded specific performance of the agreement of purchase and sale and our client was awarded the property. 

Watson and Miklaucic v Dudzicki, SC-15-135300 (unreported)

Jeremy represented Mr. Dudzicki who was a tenant at the Plaintiffs’ residence. A fire broke out at the Plaintiffs’ residence which was paid for by the Plaintiffs’ insurance company. The insurance company brought a subrogated claim against Mr. Dudzicki to try and recover its payout. Jeremy brought a motion to dismiss the claim against Mr. Dudzicki for want of jurisdiction, on the basis that the Landlord Tenant Board had exclusive jurisdiction to hear the issue and the limitation period had expired. Jeremy was successful in the motion and the claim was dismissed against Mr. Dudzicki.

Chartrand v Lalonde, Court File Number: SC-14-305 (unreported)

Jeremy represented Mr. Lalonde in this case where the Plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell on Mr. Lalonde’s property. Jeremy successfully brought a motion on behalf of our client to dismiss the action against him. The Court dismissed the claim after finding that the Plaintiff’s claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action and had no meaningful chance of success at trial.

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March 4, 2024

Eric R. Williams awarded The John P. Nelligan Award for Excellence in Advocacy, 2024.

The Advocates’ Society has just announced that Eric R. Williams of Williams Litigation Lawyers LLP, is the 2024 recipient of The John P. Nelligan Award for Excellence in Advocacy. The award is presented to an advocate from Ottawa and the surrounding region who exemplifies excellence in advocacy. The award will be

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