Description
Dimitri Maniatis is a partner in the Civil and Commercial Litigation Group at Langlois Kronstrom Desjardins, and a member of the Board of Directors of the firm. His practice comprises civil, corporate and commercial litigation and advisory services, with a special emphasis on complex commercial disputes in a variety of practice areas and industries. He conducts litigation before the courts, at the trial and appellate levels, as well as before commercial arbitration tribunals.

Dimitri represents leading public and private companies in a wide range of industries, and has developed particular knowledge and expertise in the mining and transportation (air and rail) sectors.  His practice in these industries encompasses litigation, regulatory, competition and certification matters as well as transportation and mining law more generally.

In addition, Dimitri has significant experience in insolvency and restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, having represented key stakeholders in various insolvency matters.

Dimitri graduated from McGill University with common law and civil law degrees, as well as a Master of Laws, and is a member of the Bars of Quebec, New York and Massachusetts.  He is a frequent commentator on a variety of topics of interest to the business and legal communities.

Presentations & Conferences
"Litigation in the Mining Sector: Uncovering and Managing the Risks", presented to the ABCs of Mining seminar hosted by Behre Dolbear at PDAC 2010, Toronto

Moderator of a Panel of Experts from Canada, the United States and United Kingdom addressing “The Recovery of Non-Economic Damages”, at McGill University’s Conference on International Aviation Liability and Insurance, Montreal.

“En Route Towards Litigation”, presented to CN Supply Management Annual Meeting, Montréal

“Aviation Finance”, presented to the Multilaw Conference of the Americas, Quebec City

"The Liability Convention and Commercial Space Activities", presented to the International Conference on Air and Space Law, Montréal

Publications 
”Supreme Court of Canada Case Settles Debate About Equitable Set-Off in Quebec,” The Lawyers Weekly

"International Insolvency Law Reform: A Report on the Uncitral Initiative," National Insolvency Review 

"New Opportunities, Lower Costs and Increased Service Offerings: New Canadian Rules Governing International Telecom," Langlois Gaudreau Legal Bulletin

"Aéroports de Montréal v. Meilleur: Towards Greater Autonomy for Montreal's Airport Authority", Aviation Insurance & Law

"Air and Space Law Challenges: Confronting Tomorrow," Aviation Quarterly

“The Law Governing Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects: From State Responsibility to Private Liability," Annals of Air and Space Law

"Conflict in the Skies: The Settlement of Air Transport Disputes - From the Law of the Jungle to the Rule of Law," Annals of Air and Space Law

Representative mandates 
Banking Litigation
Working in concert with law firms in Toronto and elsewhere, Dimitri represents the liquidators of Stanford International Bank in the prosecution of a significant claim against a Canadian financial institution arising from the collapse of Stanford International Bank and the multi-billion dollar fraud related thereto. The case raises numerous complex issues concerning the liability of banking institutions in the context of fraud committed by or against their customers.

Liability of Corporate Officers and Directors
Represented two former directors and officers of Cinar Corporation in the context of a well publicized claim for copyright infringement.  In appeal, succeeded in reducing the liability award by more than half of the amount awarded by the trial judge.

Commercial Litigation
Successfully defended a $50 million damage claim in the mining sector before all levels of courts, including at the Supreme Court of Canada, and secured a $550,000 cost award for his clients.  In the process, the Court of Appeal rendered a precedent-setting decision on the principle of res judicata (Ungava Mineral Exploration Inc. v. Mullan and Durham et. al., 2008 QCCA 1354).

Mining Arbitration
Lead counsel in a major commercial dispute between two mining companies involving the vesting of ownership in a mining property under to the terms of an option-joint venture agreement.  The final decision of the arbitrator canvasses complex factual and legal issues related to mining project finance and option-joint venture agreements in common use in the mining industry and, as such, constitutes one of the few global precedents on the subject. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution 
Secured an important appellate court victory for a mining company located in the area of the Plan Nord in a case dealing with the autonomy and limits of commercial arbitration in the Province of Quebec. In the process, the Québec Court of Appeal rendered a leading decision confirming that private arbitration tribunals have the power and jurisdiction to interpret and enforce commercial agreements through orders of specific performance (Canadian Royalties v. Nearctic Nickel Mines, 2012 QCCA 385).

Commercial Arbitration  
Lead counsel in the successful prosecution of a multi-million dollar claim by Canadian National Railway for breach of contract.  The case raised complex legal issues in contract law and public law, all of which were decided by the arbitrator in favour of CN.

Commercial Litigation
Co-counsel, with Raynold Langlois Q.C., in the defence of an application to disqualify Cinar’s attorneys in the context of Cinar’s $100 million suit against its former founders and others.  The Superior Court, confirmed by the Court of Appeal, rendered a detailed fact-based judgment dismissing each and every allegation of conflict of interest.

Class Action/Competition Law
Lead counsel for Virgin Atlantic Airways in defence of a class action alleging a conspiracy to fix prices in violation of the Competition Act.  The case raised numerous complex legal issues associated with the certification of competition class actions in Canada.

Insolvency/Aviation
Co-counsel for Canada’s major airports in the insolvency filings of regional carriers Inter-Canadien Airlines and Jetsgo. The engagement comprised taking measures to seize and detain aircraft for unpaid airport charges, and led, in the case of Inter-Canadien, to a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the nature, scope and extent of the seizure and detention rights of Canadian airport authorities (Re Inter-Canadien (1991) Inc. [2006] 1 S.C.R. 865).

International
Lead counsel for Canada’s principal airport authorities in the context of the negotiation and implementation of the Unidroit Convention on Security Interests in Mobile Equipment and Aircraft Protocol. 

Transportation Law
Retainer counsel for the Iron Ore Company of Canada’s common-carrier railway in various shipper-carrier disputes, some of which have led to final offer arbitration under the Canada Transportation Act and also to proceedings before the Canadian Transportation Agency, and the Federal Court of Canada.

Aviation
Canadian counsel to U.S. litigants in the matters of the crashes of Egyptair Flight 990 and Swissair Flight 111.

Constitutional and Competition Law
Co-counsel on a case for a regional airline in defence of the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Competition Act empowering the Commissioner of Competition to render cease and desist orders against dominant air carriers. 

Civil Litigation
Lead counsel in defence of a number of significant actions in damages against Concordia University.  The cases were successfully defended, after the implementation of a vigorous defence strategy that sought preliminary dismissals of plaintiffs’ claims.