Our Team

Fiona Brown

Partner

Clerk: Kristin Cooke
416.679.2781 x 207
kcooke@sbalawyers.ca

Assistant: Tonia De Palma
416.679.2781 x 212
tdepalma@sbalawyers.ca

Second to none, Fiona is the B in SBA. For 16 years Fiona worked on Bay Street, where she broke barriers by being the first female partner, and then the first female Chair, in the insurance group. Fiona brought the same values with her when she came to SBA.

Throughout her enduring career, Fiona has been consistently energized by her clients and the relationships she has built with them. She thrives on social interaction, whether it be with her clients or with her fellow and opposing lawyers. Everyone (and we mean everyone) trusts Fiona’s word because they know that she is firm but always fair.

Fiona’s clients appreciate her genuine authenticity, approachability, her proactive nature and her responsive and frequent reporting. She doesn’t like to waste her client’s time because she understands how valuable it is and she, too, would rather be travelling the world than following up on emails and chasing down reports. She gets it.

When she isn’t playing a tennis match, Fiona’s practice focuses on the defence of occupiers’ liability claims for large national clients. She litigates like she serves, with a strong offense. Rumour has it she once broke the door off a police car. Based on the fact she received a 3 minute penalty in a rec-league broom ball game, we don’t doubt it.

Primary Practice Areas

Premises Liability
Product Liability
Auto Insurance

Professional Achievements and Leadership

Lexpert Leading Lawyer in Litigation – Commercial Insurance (Multiple Years)
Best Lawyers Ranking in Personal Injury Litigation, (2015 to 2018; 2020 to 2025) and Insurance Law, (2018; 2020 to 2025)
Founding Partner, SBA Lawyers LLP (2018)
President, Medico-Legal Society of Toronto (2012 to 2013)
Board Member, North York Tennis Association (2017 to date)

Notable Matters

Rushlow v. Ball, (Superior Court of Justice), 2008, (Unreported)
Fragomeni v. 1080486 Ontario Corp. (c.o.b. Ward Funeral Home Ltd.), (Superior Court of Justice), 2006 CanLII 12968
Losier v. Sardinha, (Court of Appeal), 2006, (Unreported)
Ohayon v. ING Wellington Insurance, (Financial Services Commission of Ontario), 2005 ONFSCDRS 132
Losier v. Sardinha, (Superior Court of Justice), 2004, (Unreported)
Linhart v. GWL Realty Advisors (Superior Court of Justice), 2001, (Unreported)
Lai v. Allseating, Ontario Court of Justice – General Division, Small Claims Court), 1998, (Unreported)

Thought Leadership

Publications

Author, “Snow and Ice? No Notice, No Dice”, Blog, December 2020
Author, “The Latest Word on Pre-Judgment Interest”, Blog, November 2019
Author, “The Threshold: Nothing Much has Changed”, Blog, November 2019
Author, “No Reasonable Inference = No Causation”, Blog, June 2019
Author, “Put Up a Sign!”, Blog, May 2019
Author, “No Objective Injury? You Better be Credible!”, Blog, March 2019
Author, “It was Obvious!”, Blog, January 2019
Author, “Occupier’s Liability Act: Caselaw update”, 2018
Author, “The Duty to Defend: Pleadings, Pleadings, Pleadings!”, Blog, August 2018
Author, “The Importance of Inviting the Proper Guests to the Party”, Blog, June 2018
Author, “No Substance, No Judgment”, Blog, June 2018
Author, “Occupiers Liability: Liability Experts Don’t Always Save the Day”, Blog, March 2018
Author, “Don’t Blame Me!”, Blog, September 2017
Author, “Deductibility of Collateral Benefits in Motor Vehicle Accident Cases”, The 2012 Oatley-McLeish Guide to Motor Vehicle Litigation, 2012
Author, “Threshold Decisions for 2009”, Miller Thomson LLP, 2009
Author, “Threshold Decisions for 2007”, Miller Thomson LLP, 2007
Author, “Threshold Decisions for 2006”, Miller Thomson LLP, 2006

Presentations

Speaker, “Assessing Damages and Liability in Occupiers Liability Act Claims”, Seminar, 2024
Speaker, “The Occupiers Liability Act: An Update on Summary Judgment”, Seminar, 2023
Speaker, “Overview of Damages Concepts in Tort Claims”, Seminar, 2023
Speaker, “The CGL Policy and Slip and Fall Claims”, Seminar, 2022
Speaker, “Occupiers Liability: An Update on Reasonable Excuse”, Seminar, 2022
Speaker, “Document Production Requirements in Ontario”, Seminar, 2021
Speaker, “An Act to Amend the Occupiers Liability Act”, Speaker, 2021
Speaker, “Assessing Damages”, Speaker, 2019
Chair, “Women in Insurance Conference”, Insurance Business Canada, 2019
Chair, “Commercial and Social Host Litigation Conference”, Canadian Defence Lawyers, 2019
Speaker, “Occupier’s Liability Act: Caselaw Update”, Seminar, 2018
Speaker, “The Nuts and Bolts of Uninsured, Unidentified and Underinsured Claims”, Osgoode Law School Certificate in Personal Injury Program, 2013,
Speaker, “The Impact of Delay in Personal Injury Actions”, 8th Annual Update on Personal Injury Law and Practice, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2012
Speaker, “Quantifying Damages – Fundamentals of Property and Liability”, Ontario Bar Association, 2012
Speaker, “Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Claims”, Advocates’ Society Tricks of the Trade Program, 2011
Speaker, “Mentoring: A Career Must!”, Third Annual Women in Law Program, Canadian Women’s Institute, 2009

Corporate Memberships

Board Member, North York Winter Tennis Association
President, Medico-Legal Society, 2012 to 2013

Professional Memberships

Medico-Legal Society of Toronto
North York Winter Tennis Association

Bar Admissions & Education

Inclusive Leader Certificate, 2018
Ontario Bar, 1999
LL.B., University of Windsor, 1997

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