Trevor McDonald

Burnet Duckworth & Palmer

Partner

525 8 Ave SW #2400
Calgary, AB T2P 1G1 Calgary
Alberta, T2P 1G1, Canada

+1403.260.0378

Litigation Star


Jurisdiction:

Alberta


Trevor McDonald, partner at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, is an experienced trial and arbitration lawyer whose practice spans complex commercial disputes across construction, energy, real estate, franchise, securities, intellectual property, and estates. He has appeared in numerous trials, contested applications, and appeals in Alberta and Ontario courts, as well as the Federal Courts, and frequently acts on urgent remedies including injunctions, preservation and attachment orders, Mareva injunctions, and Anton Piller orders. He also represents clients in commercial arbitrations and mediations.

Trevor’s representative matters include defending a guarantor in litigation arising from a multimillion‑dollar receivership and successfully securing rescission and deposit recovery for a condominium purchaser, with personal liability findings against a director under the Condominium Property Act. He is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star for his breadth in commercial and civil litigation.

  • Third Eye Capital Corporation v Ryan Tobber and Roch Randy Dallaire, 2022 ABQB 536 – Counsel for a guarantor in the defence of an action for an alleged $40MM deficiency arising from the receivership and liquidation of a group of sales and leasing companies. The Court held that the guarantor was not precluded by res judicata, issue estoppel or abuse of process from raising various defences at the trial of the guarantee action, including breach of fiduciary duty, economic duress, and breach of the duty of good faith.

  • Successfully defended a pharmacy group in a breach of confidence case – Counsel to a pharmacy group in the successful defence of an injunction application seeking to prevent them from competing by soliciting the clients of their former employer. The Court held that the employer had failed to make out a strong case for breach of fiduciary duty or breach of confidence. (GG & HH Inc. v 2306084 Alberta Ltd., 2022 ABQB 58).

  • Successful application to discharge a caveat and Certificate of Lis Pendens – Counsel to a real estate developer in a successful application to discharge a caveat and Certificate of Lis Pendens from title to its lands, which were holding up a construction project. (1704455 Alberta Ltd v. Sage Property Development Inc., 2020 ABQB 776)

  • Successful land titles dispute against the City of Calgary – Counsel for a homeowner sued by the City of Calgary, which claimed ownership of a portion of her front yard under a decades‑old road plan that had inadvertently not been registered at Land Titles. The Court held that the road plan could not defeat or supersede the innocent homeowner's indefeasible title. Full indemnity costs were awarded. (Calgary (City) v. Teulon, 2021 ABQB 388, 2021 ABQB 501)

  • Arbitration
  • Commercial
  • Commercial disputes
  • Construction
  • Dispute resolution
  • Energy and construction
  • Government and regulatory
  • Insurance
  • Intellectual property
  • Securities

  • Construction and materials
  • Energy
  • Financial services
  • Industrials
  • Insurance
  • Oil and gas
  • Real estate

  • Intensive Trial Advocacy Course, Osgoode Hall, York University, 2005
  • Bachelor of Laws, University of Manitoba, 1999
  • Bachelor of Commerce, Honours, University of Manitoba, 1995

  • Law Society of Alberta
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Advocates' Society

  • Ontario, 2001
  • Alberta, 2007