Luis Sarabia

Partner

Luis Sarabia

Luis Sarabia

Partner

“Regardless of how difficult, complex or sometimes urgent the task, it was dealt with professionally and successfully.”
Client – Chambers Global

Luis has a broad-based general litigation and arbitration practice. He has specific expertise in acting for the world’s leading mining companies in their large and complex litigation and arbitrations – in Canada and internationally.

Clients appreciate that Luis is “a good sounding board, gives pragmatic advice and has a sense of calmness which gives you a lot of security.” (Chambers Global 2015)

Luis is lead counsel for public and private corporations at various levels of Canadian courts, as well as at the Ontario Securities Commission. Spanish-speaking parties regularly turn to Luis for assistance. He regularly acts as counsel in class actions, takeover bids and change of control litigation. A qualified and experienced arbitrator, Luis is regularly selected by parties to arbitrate on a range of business and commercial disputes.

Luis Sarabia

Partner

“Regardless of how difficult, complex or sometimes urgent the task, it was dealt with professionally and successfully.”
Client – Chambers Global

Luis has a broad-based general litigation and arbitration practice. He has specific expertise in acting for the world’s leading mining companies in their large and complex litigation and arbitrations – in Canada and internationally.

Clients appreciate that Luis is “a good sounding board, gives pragmatic advice and has a sense of calmness which gives you a lot of security.” (Chambers Global 2015)

Luis is lead counsel for public and private corporations at various levels of Canadian courts, as well as at the Ontario Securities Commission. Spanish-speaking parties regularly turn to Luis for assistance. He regularly acts as counsel in class actions, takeover bids and change of control litigation. A qualified and experienced arbitrator, Luis is regularly selected by parties to arbitrate on a range of business and commercial disputes.

Grup Mediapro S.L.U.

Acted for Grup Mediapro S.L.U. in a litigation settlement with CSB, LP, culminating in a transaction pursuant to which Mediapro sold its Canadian business, consisting of the OneSoccer Channel, to CSB.

Brandt Tractor Ltd.

Acting for Brandt Tractor Ltd., the world's largest privately held John Deere Construction and Forestry equipment dealer, in various litigation matters (including commercial disputes and wrongful dismissal claims).

HudBay Minerals

Acted for HudBay Minerals Inc. in a large, complex international arbitration in Lima, Peru arising out of the construction of the Constancia Mine.

Barrick Gold Corporation

Acting for Barrick Gold Corporation and certain of its former and existing officers and directors in defence of multi-billion dollar class actions in Ontario and Québec alleging breaches of the public disclosure requirements under provincial securities legislation concerning Barrick's Pascua Lama mining project in Chile and Argentina.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.

Acting for Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. in relation to its US$6.7-billion Oyu Tolgoi project in a proposed class action filed in the district of Montréal seeking leave proceed under the Securities Act (Québec) and certification under the Québec Code of Civil Procedure. Oyu Tolgoi is one of the world's largest new copper-gold mines and is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, approximately 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and 80 km north of the Mongolia-China border.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.

Acted for Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. in confidential arbitration proceedings under the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Act against its majority shareholder, Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited, in connection with the Oyu Tolgoi mine, one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world.

Potentia Renewables Inc.

Acting for Potentia Renewables Inc. and its affiliates in a contractual dispute with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) regarding Potentia's right to optimize solar projects.

Ralph Reichmann

Acted as lead counsel for Ralph Reichmann, the patriarch of a wealthy and successful Canadian family, in defending claims against him and his wife brought by his son, Abraham Reichmann, in relation to events that span over 40 years and concern, among other things, oppression and breaches of fiduciary duties in relation to notable family-owned enterprises and numerous trusts.

Barrick Gold Corporation

Acted for Barrick Gold Corporation in international tort litigation concerning the mining operations of an affiliate of Barrick in Africa, brought in the courts of Canada, the United Kingdom and Tanzania.

Detour Gold Corporation

Acted for Detour Gold Corporation in a securities class action involving alleged breaches of the public disclosure requirements of the Securities Act (Ontario) in relation to the company's production and cost guidance during the ramp-up of the Detour Lake Mine, and to details of one of the company's credit agreements.

MAG Silver Corp.

Acted for MAG Silver Corp. in an international arbitration in Mexico.

Avocet Mining PLC

Acted for Avocet Mining PLC in defending successfully through trial a claim asserted against Avocet and its subsidiary Wega Mining ASA by Infinity Gold Mining Inc. and Shaloha Trading Corporation in relation to a contested break-fee, arising out of an unsuccessful take-over bid by Infinity and Shaloha.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited

Defended Agnico Eagle Mines Limited in relation to charges against Agnico under the Fisheries Act arising from its operations at the Meadowbank mine in Nunavut.

Shaft Sinkers (PTY) Ltd.

Acted for Shaft Sinkers (PTY) Ltd. in an ICC arbitration in Geneva arising from the sinking of Eurochem's VolgaKaliy potash shaft in Russia.

EMEA Nortel Debtors

Acted for the EMEA Nortel Debtors in the Ontario Commercial List and Delaware Court of Bankruptcy concerning allocation of approximately $7.5 billion of proceeds from the sale of Nortel assets. The Nortel allocation proceedings were unique in their size, complexity, and multi-jurisdictional nature.

BHP Billiton

Acted for BHP Billiton in connection with "ROFR" litigation arising from the sale of its Canadian diamond business.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited

Acted for Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and certain of its current and former officers and directors in their defence of a multi-jurisdictional class action alleging that the company's public disclosure was false and misleading contrary to Part XXIII.1 of the Ontario Securities Act.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (now known as Nutrien Ltd.)

Acted for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (now known as Nutrien Ltd.) in proceedings before the Courts of Saskatchewan. This was a multi-billion dollar dispute over the ownership of potash reserves in the world's largest potash mine in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, and gave rise to more than 100 days of discovery, numerous interlocutory motions as well as an appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The case was settled shortly before the commencement of a lengthy trial in Saskatoon, on terms satisfactory to Potash Corporation.

Canadian Coalition for Good Governance

Acted for the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, a collection of Canada's leading institutional investors, in a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the constitutional validity of proposed legislation creating a National Securities Regulator in Canada.

Pershing Square Capital Management LP

Acted for Pershing Square Capital Management LP and other institutional investors in Sears Canada Inc. in connection with their successful efforts to oppose Sears Holdings Corporation's efforts to squeeze out the minority shareholders of Sears Canada, including proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission and the Ontario courts.

Scion Capital

Acted for Scion Capital, the largest shareholder in Bolivar Gold Corporation, in connection with its opposition to the acquisition of Bolivar by South African miner Gold Fields Limited, including Scion's dissident proxy solicitation and related litigation before the courts of Ontario and the Yukon Territory.

High-tech company

Acting for a high-tech company in a C$5-million lawsuit filed by its former President, alleging, among other things, constructive dismissal.

Bulletin

Supreme Court of Canada Rules in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v Araya

Feb. 28, 2020 - The Supreme Court of Canada has rendered its decision in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v Araya, stating that customary international law (CIL) norms are directly incorporated into Canadian law and that claims such as the ones advanced in this case may be considered by Canadian courts. The case...

In the News

Luis Sarabia Speaks to Lexpert About Federalizing Class Actions

Dec. 04, 2019 - In an article published in the Lexpert Special Edition – Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers, Luis Sarabia shared his insights on the advantages of and barriers to establishing a nationwide class action system. “Dealing with class actions on a province-by-province basis is expensive,...

In the News

Luis Sarabia Speaks to National Post About Human Rights Case Headed to SCC

Jan. 07, 2019 - In an article published recently in the National Post, Davies partner Luis Sarabia shared his perspectives on the upcoming appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the application of customary international law to Canadian businesses operating abroad. “Customary international law...

Bulletin

Canada Gets Go-Ahead for a National Securities Regulator

Nov. 12, 2018 - The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has now unanimously ruled on two reference questions from the Government of Québec, holding that the federal government’s second attempt to create a national securities regulator is constitutional. Key Takeaways The proposed cooperative pan-Canadian system...

Speaking Engagement

Duff & Phelps, 2017 General Counsel Symposium, “Canadian and Other U.S. Cross-Border Litigation: Current Issues and Trends”; Chicago, IL

Nov. 03, 2017

Article

Parents’ Subsidiary Liabilities Hit Home, co-author

Mar. 06, 2016 - Listed Magazine

Bulletin

Leading-Edge Practices in Subsidiary Governance

June 17, 2015 - At a recent presentation at the Davies Academy for Continuing Professional Development, Davies partner Luis Sarabia and Davies affiliated scholar Poonam Puri discussed recent legal proceedings in which courts have been asked to hold parent companies directly liable in negligence for the actions of...

Bulletin

Blowing the Whistle on the Whistleblower Program

May 08, 2015 - Davies has submitted a letter to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) commenting on Staff’s framework for a proposed Whistleblower Program. The Whistleblower Program would be the first of its kind for Canadian securities regulators and only the second whistleblower program in Canada to offer a...

Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Dispute Resolution: Arbitration

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Dispute Resolution: Arbitration; Litigation, General Commercial: Ontario

The Legal 500 Canada—Dispute Resolution: Ontario (Leading Individual)

Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys—Commercial (Litigation Star); Securities (Litigation Star)

Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation

Lexpert Special Edition: Mining

The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Commercial Arbitration; Litigation: Corporate Commercial; Litigation: Securities

Chambers Canada Award—Litigation Firm of the Year (2018)

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Litigation, General Commercial Department: Ontario (Band 1 for firm)

The Best Lawyers in Canada—Class Action Litigation; Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Securities Law

Bar Admissions

Ontario, 1995

Education

University of Windsor, LLB, 1993
University of Toronto, MA (International Relations), 1991
University of Toronto, BA, 1989

Professional Affiliations

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
The Advocates’ Society
The Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow

Teaching Engagements

Luis teaches a graduate course in Corporate Remedies for LLM students at Osgoode Hall Law School. He has been a guest lecturer at various law schools, including McGill University Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Western Law and the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. He has also been an instructor at the Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop at Osgoode Hall Law School’s Professional Development program. Luis is a lecturer in Continuing Legal Aid programs organized by The Advocates’ Society and in Arbitration Law for the Saskatchewan Law Society. Luis has also conducted advocacy skills training for the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.