Damages Quantification - Our Cases

When a former employee of an industrial products supplier started a competing business, we were called in by the company to quantify the losses associated with a breach of fiduciary duty claim. We assessed the damages and testified in court. The judge found the former employee had breached his duty towards his former company, which was awarded damages based on our report.

This case involved a claim for losses resulting from alleged negligence by a lawyer in drafting the exit clauses in a real estate agreement of purchase and sale. We were retained by defendants to assess the opposing expert’s estimates and prepare a series of alternative calculations that could be used for mediation or settlement. The opposing expert had proposed many scenarios. We helped get that whittled down to a single mutually-agreed upon scenario that reduced the damages quantum and led to the resolution of the matter on the eve of trial.

A water-treatment company alleged that a key member of its management team who left to establish a competing business was in breach of fiduciary duty. We were retained to quantify the losses, which entailed conducting a review of historical sales, customer by customer, and comparing the results with those of the competing business. The company had several divisions and each required an individual assessment.  Our report provided a framework for settlement discussions and the matter was ultimately resolved.

This class action lawsuit involved allegations a financial institution was charging its credit card holders undisclosed foreign exchange fees on foreign currency transactions. We were hired to prepare an expert report quantifying total transactions and related fees over a 13-year period. Complete data was not available for all years and all credit card types, so we were required to develop an estimation methodology that would stand up to close scrutiny. We prepared a report and provided expert testimony. Our quantification methodology was accepted by the court and helped form the basis of the judgment.

CHS was retained by counsel to provide an expert opinion on the considerations required to assess damages on an individual versus an aggregate basis in this class action which arose from a disputed tax shelter program. We performed various analyses, swore an affidavit and were cross-examined on our conclusions -- which were cited in the certification decision. The matter was resolved in a court-approved settlement.

When a labour-sponsored investment fund collapsed on allegations of mismanagement, we were retained to provide an opinion on the considerations appropriate to the awarding of individual damages. There were questions over the timing of valuations of the fund’s investments and the possibility of delayed write-downs, which made determining the underlying value of the fund at various times a complex issue. We performed an analysis and provided an expert report. The matter was resolved with concurrent certification and a court-approved settlement.

CHS professionals were retained to help a major Canadian retailer respond to Competition Bureau allegations its advertising was misleading consumers about the regular and sale prices on several products. We conducted a detailed assessment of the number of units sold at regular prices versus sale prices, and the proportion of time each item was on sale as determined in an analysis of store flyers, in-store advertising and interviews with the retailer’s own advertising planners. After our report was issued, the matter was settled out of court.

When a US lumber company filed a NAFTA complaint alleging Canada had violated its obligations under the U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement, the federal government asked us to perform a lost profits analysis. The company argued that quotas set out under the agreement violated the minimum standard of treatment guarantees provided for foreign investors under NAFTA. We performed an analysis of the company’s own accounting documents and were able to provide a methodology that demonstrated an error in the claim being asserted. Based on our analysis, the NAFTA tribunal rejected the US company’s application.

The owners of a combined gas station and convenience store had to reconfigure their property after a piece of their land was expropriated to build a new road. Both the expropriation and road construction were expected to have a negative impact on their existing business – but it also meant the owners had to delay plans to renovate their store, which had been expected to increase revenues. We were retained to quantify those business losses and significant out-of-pocket costs. Our expert report was used as the foundation for a mediation, and the matter settled.

When major construction started right next to their business, the owners of a recreational vehicle dealership were forced to deal with the noise, dust and large machinery as well as  the permanent closure of one of their access points. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation retained us to quantify business losses and out-of-pocket costs.  The loss report was jointly adopted by both sides and was a reference point in negotiating a successful settlement.

We were retained by the owners of a corn and soybean farm who were forced to relocate when their land was expropriated to extend Highway 407, one of the largest highway construction projects ever in Ontario. Our report quantifying the business losses and out-of-pocket costs caused by the relocation formed the basis for settlement discussions. The matter settled in mediation.

This expropriation involved a used-automobile dealership that had to relocate because of the planned extension of the Spadina subway in Toronto. The owners called on us to quantify business losses, past and future, and assess out-of-pocket costs incurred in the forced relocation. This case is among those related to the six-stop subway expansion waiting to be heard by the Ontario Municipal Board.

This patent dispute involved two multinational consumer-products giants and a popular household product. With infringement claims of over $100 million, it was one of the largest intellectual property cases ever in Canada. CHS professionals were asked to assess and quantify the sales, costs and profits of several relevant products over a 17-year period. The parties also asked us to prepare an expert report reflecting the parties’ agreed-upon numbers for the hearing reference. The matter settled out of court soon after the hearing reference.

CHS professionals were retained to help a major multinational oil company put a figure on damages in this patent infringement case involving an additive used in engine oil. Our assessment required a detailed analysis of the other side’s accounting system and the development of various approaches to determine the proportion of its profit attributable to the infringing component. We quantified damages and our analysis was used in settling the dispute.

This post-acquisition dispute stemmed from allegations of misrepresentations in a share purchase agreement and the financial statement disclosures of a major Canadian retailer. As consulting experts, we assessed the purchaser’s pricing and valuation deliberations, its due diligence and the application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The detailed quantification analyses was used as the foundation for calculating the level of damages.  Judgment was in favour of our client.

CHS was called in when a disagreement over the government contracting of office and printing equipment resulted in accusations of misrepresentations, breach of non-competition terms and bad faith. Working with industry professionals we determined sales and volume trends, and changes in technology, and also analyzed the company’s records for product mix and profitability -- which required consideration of 40 separate installations throughout Canada. We provided several expert reports quantifying the profits lost from various alleged breaches of the agreement of purchase and sale. The matter subsequently settled at mediation on the eve of arbitration proceedings.

The value of a securitization company was at the heart of this financial services dispute, with disagreement over the earn-out calculations new management owed the former owners following the company’s sale. We prepared an expert report and provided testimony at arbitration proceedings. The arbitration award adopted the majority of our loss quantification findings.

The acquisition of an armoured car business led to a post-acquisition dispute over financial issues such as the accounting for long-term contracts, accruals and payables. We were called in to investigate and provide an expert opinion. Our recommended corrections were accepted by both parties and resulted in a purchase price adjustment.