Andrew Morrison

Contact (Vancouver)

Direct: (604) 891-1307
Email: amorrison@shieldsharney.com

Legal Assistant: Kritisha Nandan (604) 891-1330
knandan@shieldsharney.com

Andrew is an experienced commercial litigator who has provided candid and effective advice to clients of all sizes for more than twenty years.  

He has achieved a high rate of success in both trial and appellate decisions. Andrew is closely involved in all the matters he accepts and has a 91% overall success rate in more than 100 reported decisions, with an 86% success rate in trials and a 92% success rate on appeals.

He has achieved a similar success rate for summary judgments and petitions he has prepared and argued for his clients, to obtain a positive result at an early stage and without the stress and expense of a trial.

Andrew has a varied practice.  Andrew appears in many courts and tribunals including the B.C. Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is well-known for litigating disputes concerning real estate and commercial contracts, and has substantial experience handling matters involving shareholder rights, partnerships, commercial leases, employment relationships, the collection of judgment debts, conflicts of interest, fee disputes between lawyers and clients, and civil procedure.

Andrew is also an experienced mediator and is regularly selected by other lawyers to mediate disputes involving their clients. He facilitates the resolution of disputes which involve modest to millions of dollars. He has also acted as arbitrator.

Andrew is a sought-after speaker who is regularly asked to speak at Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLEBC) and Canadian Bar Association (CBA) events.  He has also been a guest speaker to law students at the Allard School of Law at UBC.

Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation

  • Real Estate Litigation

  • Appeals

  • Mediation & Arbitration

Morrison, Andrew

 Notable Recent Cases

Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v. Crystal Square Parking Corp., 2020 SCC 29
Andrew represented Urban Development Institute – Pacific Region at the Supreme Court of Canada in the leading decision on the principles that determine when a corporation is bound by a contract made before it was incorporated.

Oswald v Start Up SRL, 2020 BCSC 1730 and Oswald v. Start Up SRL, 2021 BCCA 352
Andrew successfully argued that a short Letter of Intent was a binding contract that required the counter-party to buy the client’s shares for more than $3 million. The buyer appealed and the BC Court of Appeal quoted from the factum Andrew wrote in its decision dismissing the appeal.

Bogner Kerrisdale Developments Inc. v 1224095 BC Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1289
A developer attempted to revise a strata plan to the prejudice of an owner of a strata unit. Andrew convinced the court to dismiss the developer’s application and order the developer to pay the strata unit owner’s legal costs.

Chameleon Talent Inc. v. Sandcastle Holdings Ltd., 2010 BCCA 300 and Pinto v. Revelstoke Mountain Resort Limited Partnership, 2011 BCCA 210
In two separate cases, Andrew was able to convince the BC Court of Appeal that a pre-sale contract for a strata unit was unenforceable due to a lack of disclosure. These decisions are regularly referred to when courts are asked to decide whether to enforce a pre-sale contract for a strata unit.

Argo Ventures Inc. v Choi, 2019 BCSC 85 and Argo Ventures Inc. v. Choi, 2020 BCCA 17
Andrew assisted the seller of a property to recover an award of damages equal to the amount of an unpaid real estate deposit. The BC Court of Appeal definitively confirmed that a seller could claim a real estate deposit from a buyer who decided not to complete a purchase – even if the deposit had not been paid.

Peninsula (Kingsway) Seafood Restaurant Inc. v Central Park Developments Ltd., 2021 BCSC 119 and Peninsula (Kingsway) Seafood Restaurant Inc. v. Central Park Developments Ltd., 2021 BCCA 93
Andrew persuaded the BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal not to reinstate the lease of a tenant who had been evicted for failing to pay its rent, which would have forced the landlord to break its lease with its new tenant.

Iannello v MacCallum, 2021 BCSC 2235
Andrew obtained the dismissal of a claim against a mortgage broker almost immediately after it was filed – even before it had to file a defence.

Carr v. Cheng, Dorset College Inc., 2007 BCSC 1693
Andrew obtained the dismissal of a corporate oppression claim. This decision is regularly referred to because it confirmed that a corporate oppression claim must be commenced promptly.

Hainan Dehong Real Estate Development Corporation v WestBay Partners, 2022 BCSC 24
Andrew obtained an order forcing a litigant to disclose communications with its counsel that it claimed to be privileged.

Grech v Stanley, 2019 BCSC 2437
Andrew represented a realtor when his client withheld payment of his commission and obtained an order forcing the payment of a commission in excess of $200,000.

MacLean v Zemtsova, 2019 BCSC 975
Andrew represented a lawyer during a lengthy fee review and successfully argued that the fee charged by the lawyer (in excess of $500,000) should not be reduced at all.

Lessing Brandon & Company LLP v Dyck and others, 2019 BCSC 2331
Andrew represented a law firm that had compromised their fee to settle a client complaint. Andrew convinced the court to dismiss the client’s effort to review the fees charged by the law firm despite the settlement agreement.