Excellence in Advocacy
Asher Honickman

Notable Cases

Labrecque v. City of Toronto, 2023 ONSC 4616 (CanLII)

Asher was successful on behalf of his client, a Toronto resident, in quashing the decision of Toronto City Council to send up to $100,000 to litigants in the Province of Quebec. The decision reaffirmed that all municipal actions must have a municipal purpose.

Hillier v. Ontario (2019 – 2021)

Asher represented  MPP Randy Hillier in his challenge to Ontario’s Election Finances Act. The statute was challenged on the basis that it discriminates against Independent (non-party affiliated) candidates. Very shortly before the court hearing, the Ontario government tabled and passed new legislation to put Independent MPPs on a more equal footing. 

You can learn more about the victory in this Global News story.

Melek v. Conservative Party of Canada 2021 ONSC 1959 (CanLII)

Asher brought an urgent application to compel the Conservative Party of Canada to certify his client, Ghada Melek, as a nominee for the National Council election. The court agreed that Asher’s client should never have been disallowed from running and ordered that she be placed on the ballot.

RNC Corp. v. Johnstone, 2020 ONSC 7751 (CanLII)

Asher was successful in resisting the defendants’ summary judgment motion to dismiss the claim as being out of time.  The plaintiff delivered its invoices approximately 3.5 years before suing, but the court agreed that there were complex issues of fact that required a trial.

R. v. Stillman, 2019 SCC 40

Asher appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada as one of three lawyers acting on behalf of the intervenor Advocates for the Rule of Law. Asher founded this organization in 2014 and it has since become a registered charity.

Rockford v. Haque, 2019 ONSC 474 (CanLII)

Asher acted for the plaintiff and was successful in defeating the defendant’s summary judgment motion. The defendant had taken the position that the plaintiff was out of time to bring her lawsuit (she was involved in an accident in 2009 but did not sue until 2014). Asher was successful in demonstrating to the court that she could not have known that she was seriously and permanently injured until several years after the accident. Her lawsuit was therefore allowed to proceed.

Alford v. Law Society of Upper Canada (2017 – 2020)

Asher represented Professor Ryan Alford and lawyer Murray Klippenstein in a constitutional challenge to a new Law Society rule. The Law Society eventually repealed the rule that was being challenged.

You can read more about the case here.

Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Governor General in Council), 2018 SCC 40

Asher appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada as one of three lawyers on behalf of the intervenor Advocates for the Rule of Law. Asher founded this organization in 2014 and it has since become a registered charity.

The reasoning of four of the concurring justices in this case dovetailed with the submissions that Asher and his co-counsel put before the Court.

Asher has since appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of Advocates for the Rule of Law on several other occasions.

Debruge v. Arnold, 2018 ONSC 2357 (CanLII)

Asher and his partner, Linda Matthews, were successful in dismissing the plaintiff’s appeal of the trial judge’s decision, and were also successful in the cross-appeal of the trial judge’s decision on costs.

Pena v. U-Pak, 2017 (Jury Trial)

Asher, along with two his partners, Greg Abogado and Michael Burgar, acted for the plaintiffs in a complex personal injury trial. The plaintiff was tragically killed while operating his motor vehicle. He left behind a grieving wife and a severely autistic son who had depended on his father’s care since he was an infant.

After a lengthy trial, the jury awarded the plaintiffs over $3 million, one of the highest Ontario verdicts in recent years. Asher and his fellow counsel were then successful in obtaining nearly $1 million in additional damages for the plaintiffs.

Dabor v. Southbram Holdings, 2016 (Jury Trial)

Asher acted for the defendants. After a lengthy trial, the jury found that the plaintiff was predominantly at fault for his own injuries.

Khelifa v. Sunrise Property Management, 2016 ONCA 698 (CanLII)

Asher and his co-counsel, Greg Abogado, acted for the defendants and were successful in having the plaintiff’s claim completely dismissed. The plaintiff appealed, but the appeal was successfully dismissed.

Browne ats Eade (2015, Jury Trial)

Asher and his co-counsel, Greg Abogado, were successful in getting the case against their client dismissed. The case was about which driver caused a motor vehicle accident that tragically killed two people and injured more. The jury agreed that Asher’s client was entirely blameless and that the accident was the fault of the other drive

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