Thomas J. Donnelly

Phone: 416.507.1866
Email: tdonnelly@tgplawyers.com
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Tom Donnelly is a founding partner in Thomas Gold Pettingill LLP.

Areas of Practice & Experience:

Tom Donnelly litigates insurance coverage matters on behalf of policyholders and insurers. He has appeared in coverage cases before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and in private arbitrations and mediations. His policyholder clients have obtained over $548 million in settlements and judgments from their insurers.

Tom is listed in the prestigious independent guide Best Lawyers in Canada, in the area of insurance law. He is also listed in Canadian Who's Who.

Judges of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice have commented on Tom’s advocacy skills:

• "Before setting out the relevant background of the claim, I will say the following. Mr. Donnelly . . ., in able and detailed submissions, focussed on the legal issues which underlie an insurer's duty to defend." Justice E. Macdonald in Cooper v. Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Co. (2001), 32 C.C.L.I. (3d) 284 (Ont. S.C.J.), affirmed (2002), 59 O.R. (3d) 417 (C.A.).


• "I am obliged to counsel for all parties on these applications . . . whose thoroughness of preparation and excellent quality of materials and argument was of great assistance to me." Justice E. Stewart in Bridgewood Building Corp. (Riverfield) v. Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada (2005), 26 C.C.L.I. (4th) 93 (Ont. S.C.J.), affirmed (2006), 266 D.L.R. (4th) 182 (Ont. C.A.), application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed November 9, 2006.


• "I begin by thanking counsel for their written and oral submissions. The Application was well prepared, and the standard of argument and advocacy was high." Justice P. Perell in AXA Insurance (Canada) v. Ani-Wall Concrete Forming Inc. (2007), 56 C.C.L.I (4th) 239 (S.C.J.), additional reasons to (2007), 87 O.R. (3d) 764 (S.C.J.), additional reasons (2007), 88 O.R. (3d) 240 (S.C.J.), affirmed (2008), 91 O.R. (3d) 481 (C.A.), additional reasons at (2008), 66 C.C.L.I. (4th) 35 (Ont. C.A.).


• "I would like to express my sincere thanks to counsel for their very capable oral and written submissions which were of great assistance to me." The Honourable H. Spiegel, retired judge acting as an Umpire in an appraisal under s. 128 of the Insurance Act, in Midas Investment Corp. v. The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. (Nov. 9, 2011).

Tom has experience in dealing with many types of insurance, including: directors’ and officers’ insurance; professional liability, commercial general liability, environmental liability and excess and umbrella liability insurance; fidelity and financial institutions bonds; property and business interruption insurance; and homeowners’ and automobile insurance. He has over forty reported decisions.

Tom taught an advanced insurance law course at the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law, for three years. He has spoken at insurance industry conferences in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

In addition to his law practice, Tom is the co-author and contributing editor of Insurance Law in Canada (Toronto: Carswell), which is the country's leading insurance law text. He has also written chapters in the Annotated Commercial General Liability Policy (Toronto: Canada Law Book). His work in these two texts has been quoted with approval by the Supreme Court of Canada and by trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

Click here for a list of some of Tom's recent and notable decisions.

Education:

• LL.B., University of Western Ontario, 1997
• M.A., York University, 1994
• B.A. Hons., Glendon College, York University, 1993
• Called to the Bar in Ontario, 1999

Associations:

• The Advocates' Society
• Canadian Bar Association
• Ontario Bar Association
• ORIMS (Ontario Risk & Insurance Management Society)

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