Symtron (No. 2)

Peter A. Simm was co-counsel for the Plaintiff in raising and settling a major claim against the Canadian government for an American maker of computer-controlled firefighter-training simulators, in Symtron (No. 2)  (F.C. T.D.; settled in 2001). This procurement lawsuit was against the Crown corporation that acts as purchasing agent for the Ministry of National Defence on large military construction projects.

Liaising with Symtron’s in-house U.S. counsel, Simm drafted the Statement of Claim pursuant to NAFTA Article 1017(1)(d), seeking damages for breach of contract arising out of a botched tendering process. He strategically structured the Claim to sidestep several statutory pitfalls, per the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act and the Defence Production Act. He also streamlined evidentiary issues through potent use of res judicata arising from the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Symtron (No. 1).

The draft Statement of Claim yielded a seven-figure settlement (in U.S. dollars) in May 2001 from the Canadian Ministry of National Defence, paid out on behalf of a federal Crown agency, Defence Construction (1951) Ltd., with the concurrence of the federal Department of Justice.

Full cite: Symtron Systems Inc. v. Defence Construction (1951) Ltd. (c.o.b. Defence Construction Canada)  (draft Statement of Claim delivered to all counsel but settlement reached before filing in the Federal Court – Trial Division) [settled in 2001]. (Co-counsel with Marshall N. Margolis.)