Peter Pliszka acts as trial and appellate counsel in a broad range of product liability, commercial and insurance litigation matters in private and class action proceedings before all levels of court in Ontario, and elsewhere, and before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Peter is recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the leading product liability lawyers. Peter is listed in several lawyer ranking directories, including: Canadian Lexpert Legal Directory: Repeatedly Recommended, Litigation - Product Liability; Who's Who Legal, The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers - Product Liability Defence Lawyers; Who's Who Legal - Canada - Product Liability; The International Who's Who of Life Sciences Lawyers; Euromoney Institutional Investors - Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers; and Euromoney's The Best of the Best - list of the top 25 product liability lawyers in the world.
Peter has substantial experience as defence counsel for manufacturers, distributors and insurers in product liability proceedings. Peter's product liability practice has dealt with the design, manufacture, operation and governmental regulation of a vast array of consumer and industrial products, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food products, motor vehicles, home electronics equipment, sports equipment, power generators, aircraft, forklift trucks, tractor-trailer wheel assemblies, fire-retardant fabrics, trains, elevator components, industrial machinery, industrial resins, and cellular telephones.
Peter regularly advises manufacturers on regulatory requirements of various products, recalls, and risk management issues including product warnings and product labels.
Peter has acted as defence counsel for Canadian and U.S. corporations in various class action proceedings in Canada involving issues of product liability and employee post-retirement health benefits.
Peter has frequently represented Canadian clients and foreign clients from the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia in international business disputes. He is well-versed in issues of private international law including determinations of governing laws, proof of foreign laws, choice of jurisdiction issues, applications to stay lawsuits and relevant Canadian public policy issues. Peter has acted as counsel in the leading appellate jurisdiction cases, and acted for the foreign defendant in the recent landmark Supreme Court of Canada case which established a new test for determining when a Canadian Court is allowed to take jurisdiction over a lawsuit against a foreign defendant.
In the IBA and ABA - Section of International Law's current edition of Who's Who Legal – Canada 2011, the authors described the survey response about Peter as follows: "Peter Pliszka of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is 'absolutely first Class'. Praised for the quality of his advice and of his representation, he has worked with clients from fields ranging from medical devices to food products, industrial machinery and cellular telephones. In the words of one of our interviewees: 'the clients love him.'"
Peter is the co-author of a leading book for practitioners in coroners' investigations and inquests in Ontario. In the forward to the first edition of the book, The Honourable Mr. Justice William R. Wolski states that, "The authors of this Annotated Coroners Act are well-known for their legal knowledge and practical skills inside the coroners system. They have consistently pushed at the borders of the inquest process and have helped to shape the modern coroners' inquest." His experience includes acting as counsel for Canada's cellular phone industry association in Coroner's inquest focussed on the cutting-edge issue of driver distractions.
In September 2002, Peter was inducted as a member of Product Liability Advisory Council ("PLAC"). PLAC is a U.S.-based, defence-oriented litigation strategy and networking organization for lawyers with demonstrated skill and experience in product liability litigation. PLAC's membership comprises primarily in-house counsel of large U.S. manufacturing corporations, with a limited number of outside litigation counsel who meet PLAC's selection criteria. Peter is the only Canadian outside counsel to be admitted as a member of PLAC.
Peter has also been admitted as a member of International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). IADC is an invitation-only, international organization of experienced and prominent corporate and insurance in-house counsel and outside litigation lawyers.
Peter has published numerous articles and has frequently been asked to speak at legal conferences in Canada and the U.S. sponsored by Product Liability Advisory Council, American Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, Canadian Bar Association, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, The Canadian Institute, Insight Information, The Advocates Society, Ontario Bar Association and The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, on a number of topics including product liability, product recalls, international litigation issues, class action lawsuits, punitive damages, aviation law, coroners' inquests, legal privilege issues, electronic discovery, professional liability, expert evidence in legal proceedings, and managing the media in litigation.
Honours and Awards
- Peter is listed as a leading lawyer in the area of product liability in several national and international directories of lawyers including: Canadian Lexpert Legal Directory: Repeatedly Recommended, Litigation - Product Liability; Who's Who Legal, The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers - Product Liability Defence Lawyers; The International Who's Who of Life Sciences Lawyers; Euromoney Institutional Investors - Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers; and Euromoney/Legal Media Group's The Best of the Best - list of the top 25 product liability lawyers in the world.
Membership/Affiliations
- Product Liability Advisory Council
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- Vice-Chair International of Class Actions Committee, 2009 (ongoing)
- Vice-Chair International of Product Liability Committee, 2011 (ongoing)
- Open Forum Chair, 2012 Annual Meeting
- Claims Litigation Management Alliance (formerly known as Council on Litigation Management)
- Defense Research Institute
- Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association - Legal Task Force
- American Bar Association - Litigation Section
- American Bar Association - Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section
- Canadian Defence Lawyers
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
- The Advocates Society
- Member of Selection Committee, Canadian Bar Association Foundation for Legal Research - Walter Owen Book Prize (2005-2008 )