Avi Sharabi
Tel: 416.594.4681 Email: asharabi@sblegal.caPeer-nominated as a Rising Star for his work in insurance and reinsurance law in Canada, Avi has a thorough knowledge of Canadian, North American, and London insurance markets.
Informations about
Biography
AVI SHARABI is one of the co-chairs of the firm’s insurance coverage practice group. Avi acts for both insurers and policyholders. Avi provides coverage advice with respect to a variety of insurance policies, including but not limited to Commercial General Liability, Property, Directors and Officers, Errors and Omissions, Environmental Impairment Liability, Automobile, Life, Health, Travel, and Cyber. Avi provides advice in respect of both primary and excess/umbrella policies. Avi has acted as coverage and monitoring counsel for insurers, as well as both plaintiff and defence counsel for insurers and policyholders involved in coverage litigation, arising out of contractual and extra-contractual (i.e. bad faith) claims.
Avi enjoys a broad-based civil and commercial litigation practice. He often defends financial professionals (i.e. advisors, mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, accountants, consultants, etc.), medical professionals, emergency services, public health authorities / municipalities, construction professionals and contractors, retailers and property owners in a wide variety of individual and class actions, involving malpractice, property damage, bodily injury, abuse, defamation, oppression (i.e. both condominium and corporate), breach of privacy, breach of contract, and product liability claims. Avi also enjoys acting as plaintiff’s counsel in subrogation claims involving property damage and fraud.
In addition to his experience at all levels of the common law Canadian courts, and various administrative tribunals, Avi has extensive experience with mediations and arbitrations. Avi encourages his clients to consider various forms of alternative dispute resolution to achieve speedier and more efficient results.
In his spare time, Avi enjoys traveling with his family and friends, and playing/watching sports.
Representative Work
Reported Decisions
- Acted for insurance brokerage in complex certification and stay motions involving interplay between class actions and mass torts, McCartney v. CDSPI Advisory Services Inc., 2025 ONSC 4250 (CanLII)
- Successfully obtained time-on-risk allocation against policyholder involving significant uninsured period. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada et al., 2025 ONSC 5670 (CanLII).
- Successfully represented self-insured applicant on coverage application concerning defence obligation and issues of equitable contribution. Live Nation v. Aviva, 2023 ONSC 2284, appeal allowed in part at 2024 ONCA 634 (CanLII)
- Successfully argued for the dismissal of an oppression remedy application against a condominium corporation by a unit owner over a noise complaint. Kikites v. York Condominium Corporation No. 382, 2022 ONSC 4606, aff’d 2024 ONCA 34 (CanLII)
- Successfully argued for the dismissal of an oppression remedy application against a government funded lender arising out of a failed brewery business venture. Ziegelmaier v. Fisher et al., 2023 ONSC 4191
- Brown v. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), 2023 ONSC 6254 (CanLII) – Successfully resisted a motion for leave to appeal a successful undertakings and refusals motion at first instance.
- Successfully resisted the production of a client’s hard drives in an interlocutory production motion. Ceballos v. Aviva Insurance et al., 2021 ONSC 4695 (CanLII)
- Successfully argued a partial summary judgment, resulting in the dismissal of all individually named defendants in a complex condominium dispute by a unit owner against the condominium corporation and all unit owners. 1229965 Ontario Inc. v. York Condominium Corp. No. 263, 2020 ONSC 1639 (CanLII)
- Successfully argued appeal at Ontario Court of Appeal, overturning application decision, regarding the interpretation of a Sexual Abuse Exclusion in a commercial general liability policy. Southside Muay Thai Academy Corporation v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2020 ONCA 385
- Successfully argued for time-on-risk allocation in coverage application amongst several concurrent insurers. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company v. AIG Insurance Company of Canada. et al., 2019 ONSC 6489 (CanLII)
Representative Matters
- Acting for commercial general liability, property, and specialty insurers in various insurance coverage and bad faith litigation claims.
- Acting for insurance brokerage in mass professional negligence claim and parallel class action.
- Acting for municipal public health body in mass tort infectious disease claim.
- Acting for public health body in bodily injury claims.
- Acting for paramedics in medical malpractice claims.
- Acting for hotels and other hospitality clients in respect of bodily injury, including abuse, claims.
- Acting for cyber insurer in respect of data breach claims.
- Acting for D&O insurer in 8-figure debenture claim.
- Acting for D&O insurer in employment class action.
- Acting for E&O insurer in financial advisor fraud class action.
- Acting for medical product manufacturer in mass tort claims.
- Acting as subrogation counsel on property damage claims.
- Acting as subrogation counsel in banking fraud claims.
- Acting for insurance brokers defending Covid-19 pandemic insurance coverage claims.
- Acting for property insurer in environmental spill claim.
- Acting for E&O insurer in claim by design professional in respect of large infrastructure project.
- Acting for excess commercial general liability insurer providing coverage advice in respect of a multi-million-dollar pharmaceutical lawsuit.
- Acting for property insurer in complex construction first-party claim spanning multiple policy periods.
- Acting for home insurer in gas explosion claim.
- Acting for hospital in medical malpractice claims.
- Acting for regulated health care professional in malpractice claim.
- Acting for financial advisor in professional negligence claim.
- Acting for condominium corporation in property damage and oppression claims.
- Acting for business person in breach of contract claim by former business partner.
- Acting for members of a joint venture in real estate dispute by other members of the joint venture.
- Acting for director/shareholder in contentious sale of company.
- Acting for national media company in defamation and privacy litigation.
Speaking Engagements
- Extracontractual Claims Against Insurers / Insurance Contractors, Client Seminar, 2025
- Insurance Coverage Review, Client Seminar, 2025
- Additional Insureds Update, Client Seminars, 2024
- Long-Tail Coverage and Defence, Client Seminar, 2024
- Cyber Liability and Cyber Insurance Update, Stieber Berlach LLP Insurance Law Update Seminar, 2023
- Class Actions and Professional Liability Update, Client Seminar, 2023
- Contribution and Indemnity Between Insurers, Client Seminar 2023
- Additional Insureds Update, Client Seminar, 2022
- Contractual Liability Exclusion, Stieber Berlach LLP Insurance Law Update Seminar, 2022
- CGL Coverage Concepts, Client Seminar, 2021
- Double Duty: The equities of concurrent duties to defend, Stieber Berlach LLP Insurance Law Update Seminar, 2020
- Insurance Issues in Technology Contracting, CanTech’s 2018 Technology Law Spring Forum, 2018
- The 2017 Highlights in Cyber Insurance Explored, The Knowledge Group webcast, 2017
- Insurance Coverage Issues, Client Seminar, 2016
- Professional Liability Issues, Client Seminar, 2016
- Defamation on the Internet, Speaker, Client Seminar, 2015
Publications
- “Court of Appeal Rejects All Sums Approach to Long-Tail Claims,” Stieber Berlach LLP Case Commentary, 2024
- “The Courts clarify a condominium corporation’s obligations when a unit owner complains about noise from another unit owner,” Stieber Berlach LLP Case Commentary, 2024
- “Creating a One-Sided Narrative Could Lead to a Punitive Damages Award against an Insurer,” Stieber Berlach LLP Case Commentary, 2024
- “Double Duty: The equities of concurrent duties to defend,” Stieber Berlach LLP Insurance Law Update Seminar, 2020
- “Should MDS Inc. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company (FM Global) Impact COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims?,” Stieber Berlach LLP Case Commentary, 2020
- “Much Ado About Nothing: Three Reasons why the Brick v. Chubb Decision does not add much to the Law of Cyber Insurance,” Client Newsletter, 2018
- “The Correct Approach to the Interpretation of Boilerplate Policy Wording in Canada,” Client Newsletter, 2016