Associate
Nicholas M. Vaartnou
Office
Vancouver / Victoria
Key Practice Area
Advocacy & Litigation
Year of Call
2017
Qualifications
British Columbia Bar (2017)
Education
Western University (J.D., 2016)
University of Victoria (B.Comm., 2011)
Nicholas is litigation counsel based in Victoria and represents clients throughout the province. Nicholas has a broad civil and commercial litigation practice, which includes contractual disputes, real estate and property disputes, construction disputes (including builder’s lien claims), judicial reviews, shareholder disputes, and creditors’ remedies such as collections and foreclosures. Nicholas also maintains a bankruptcy and insolvency practice where he represents creditors, debtors, and court officers.
Nicholas has successfully represented clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, the courts of King’s Bench in Alberta and Saskatchewan, various administrative tribunals, and arbitration tribunals.
- Spirit Bay Developments Limited Partnership v. Scala Developments Consultants Ltd., 2022 BCCA 407 (with Sean Hern, K.C.) – Obtained and defended various challenges to an arbitral award ordering a developer of a large residential project to pay amounts owing to a housing contractor pursuant to their various contracts.
- Paynter v. The Board of Education of School District No. 61, 2022 BCSC 1671 – Successfully challenged the jurisdiction of a Board of Education to indefinitely suspend a school trustee.
- Brockman et al. v. Valmont Industries Holland B.V. et al., 2021 BCSC 500, varied in part 2022 BCCA 80 (with Matthew Pierce) – Obtained relief for a minority shareholder from the unfairly prejudicial conduct of a majority shareholder who was operating the business as if it was a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
- Member of the Canadian Bar Association (Insolvency Subsection)
- Member of the Vancouver Bar Association
- Member of the Victoria Bar Association
- The “Ones to Watch” Best Lawyers in Canada for 2025