Jack F. Fitch is a senior partner at Hughes Amys LLP where he articled and has practiced law since his call to the bar in 1980. He has been certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation since 1993 by the Law Society of Upper Canada and has a varied civil litigation practice with an emphasis on insurance defence litigation , including personal injury, personal and commercial property, products liability, professional negligence and coverage and duty to defend cases. Jack is also an experienced estate and commercial litigator and has appeared in matters at all levels of the Courts in Ontario, in the Superior Court Trial Division in the Province of Nova Scotia and the Supreme Court of Canada. Jack has also appeared before many administrative boards and tribunals including the Workplace Safety and Insurance Tribunal, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, License Appeals Tribunal of Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada Discipline Committee, the Real Estate Commission of Ontario Discipline Committee, the Discipline Committee of the Toronto Real Estate Board, the Liquor License Board and the Toronto Historical Board.
Jack has also played a key role in organizing the following conferences: Institutional Liability for Sexual Assault Legal Foundation of Liability 2001, Institutional Liability for Sexual Assault Mediation and Conciliation 2000, Law Society of Upper Canada First Party Benefits, Medico-Legal Society of Toronto Medical Legal Report Writing and Law Society of Upper Canada Small Claims Court Costs Awards.
Some of his notable cases include William Finton Sheridan et al. v. Scaffold-Russ Dilworth Limited et al., 478649 Ontario Limited, carrying on business as Green Acre Estates v. William Corcoran et al., Trombetta v. Trombetta, Naylor v. Naylor and Morawietz v. Morawietz.
Jack has completed courses in advanced mediation skills and is an experienced commercial and insurance mediator. In 1995, Jack was retained to assist in the design and implementation of an alternative dispute program created to address claims of sexual and physical abuse arising from the operation of a training school. Through that program and related civil actions which Jack has defended, over 600 claims of abuse have been resolved.
Jack is a frequent speaker at continuing education programs and has spoken recently about the evolving law of host liability, institutional liability for assault and sexual abuse, the liability of insurance brokers and special consideration injury trials. Jack has participated in The Canadian Institute’s program on Institutional Liability for Sexual Assault & Abuse each of the last five years.
After graduating from Carleton University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Jack attended Osgoode Hall Law School at York University where he graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Laws Degree. Jack is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, The Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers Association, Canadian Defence Lawyers, The Advocates’ Society, the Toronto Medico-Legal Society, the Hamilton Law Association, Hamilton Lawyers’ Club, Hamilton Medical-Legal Society and The Sir Thomas Moore Society. From 1982 to 1985 Jack served on the Small Claims Court Rules Committee. Jack is also a life member and past executive member of the Honourable Order of the Blue Goose International having served as Most Loyal Grand Gander in 2007 and 2008.
Jack has been recognized by Lexpert as Repeatedly Recommended as a Leading Practitioner in the area of Commercial Insurance Litigation.
In 2008, after 28 years in Hughes Amys LLP’s Toronto office, Jack moved his practice to the Hamilton office where he is continuing his practice.
