Simon Coval is Co-leader of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group and is a leading commercial litigation lawyer, with over 75 cases noted on the BC Court’s website plus many arbitration and regulatory hearings. Prominent Canadian businesses and individuals retain him for disputes involving contracts, real estate, economic torts, injunctions, companies and partnerships, civil fraud and white-collar crime. He is ranked as a leading litigator by Lexpert, Benchmark, Best Lawyers, and Chambers, who describe him as “well regarded for the strength and scope of his business litigation practice. Sources consider him to be ‘one of the best in the city'."
As a member of the Firm’s National Litigation Management Team and Manager of our Vancouver commercial litigation group, Simon bases his litigation strategy on the client’s business goals.
Simon has a broad commercial litigation practice and his clients run the gamut from pro bono cases to prominent businesses such as Canadian Pacific Railway Company, VanCity, and Imperial Parking who have hired him for major litigation on a repeat basis.
He has prosecuted and defended numerous major fraud, contract, misrepresentation, fiduciary duty and injunction cases in trials, arbitration and regulatory hearings.
Deep knowledge of real estate litigation
While Simon works with clients from many industries on a broad range of commercial litigation issues, he has strong experience with real estate litigation, and has litigated all manner of cases involving sale of land, commercial leases, market rent and market value, statutory rights, easements, appraisals, and injunctions.
His experience includes complex real estate arbitration for major British Columbia corporations, high-profile land disputes for a national railway against a major municipality, and historical forestry and mineral ownership claims.
Simon is a frequent lecturer on real estate and commercial leasing issues, including as coordinator of the CLE BC course Commercial Leasing in 2015 and 2017 and as a frequent instructor on real estate rights and remedies.
Community involvement
Simon is a director of the Access Pro Bono Society of BC, where he has also been the coordinator for their BC Court of Appeal Program since 2007.
He was a member of the JDRF Ride for Diabetes Research Cabinet for 9 years and co-chair of the ride from 2014 to 2016.
Simon is a member of the British Columbia Rugby Union Discipline Committee, which has primary responsibility for all BCRU discipline issues and meets every second Wednesday during the rugby season.
Simon frequently teaches trial advocacy, and has been the session leader on “direct evidence” for the UBC Allan McEachern advanced trial advocacy course since 2010 and an instructor since 2004. He is Chair of the Advocates' Society - BC Advisory Committee and also course chair for an upcoming Direct Examination Workshop.
Simon will be a course co-chair to the upcoming CLE BC Real Estate Litigation 2019 conference. As a member of CLE BC’s list of “Most Prolific Volunteers from 1996 to 2016,” Simon’s CLE contributions over the past decade include acting as course co-chair for the Commercial Leasing (2015 and 2017) and Litigation for Solicitors (2012) programs. He has been a faculty member on many courses including Commercial Leasing; Arbitration and Remedies; Real Estate Remedies; Electronic Evidence; and the 2005 Civil Law conference.
