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John Polyzogopoulos

Partner
jpolyzogopoulos@blaney.com
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P: 416-593-2953
F: 416-594-5083
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Practice Areas Call to the Bar Education Assistant

Practice Areas

Call To The Bar

  • Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2000

Education

  • LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, 1998
  • B.A., Economics, University of Toronto, 1995

Assistant

Janis Balvers
Linkedin
John Polyzogopoulos Photo ©2024 Blaney McMurtry LLP
 Overview

John was recognized by Best Lawyers® in Canada in 2024 and 2025 in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation. In September 2024, he assumed the role of Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group. He helps clients solve their business and personal disputes:

  • Corporate and Commercial Litigation/Insolvency - Business partner and shareholder disputes, breach of contract, environmental contamination disputes, franchise disputes, debt collection, commercial tenancy disputes, construction disputes, real estate disputes, product liability, bankruptcy and receiverships
  • Estate Litigation - Disputes between heirs/beneficiaries and executors/estate trustees
  • Sports Law - representing amateur hockey and other sport organizations from the local to the national level, as well as athletes regarding internal governance, discipline and dispute resolution
  • Family Business Litigation – Corporate divorce between spouses when both their business and marriage partnerships dissolve

John helps clients resolve their disputes in a variety of ways:

  • Court proceedings, private arbitrations and other tribunals
  • Negotiation
  • Mediation

John’s court and tribunal experience:

  • Supreme Court of Canada
  • Ontario Court of Appeal, Divisional Court and Superior Court
  • Nunavut Court of Justice
  • Administrative tribunals
  • Private arbitrations

Other types of matters John helps his clients with:

  • Appeals – John can assist with appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal and other appellate courts
  • Professional Negligence and Discipline – accountants, lawyers, engineers, real estate agents, financial advisors, insurance brokers, dental hygienists and others
  • Defamation and Breach of Privacy
  • Enforcing Foreign Judgments and Jurisdictional Issues
  • Fraud
  • Injunctions and other Extraordinary Remedies

John is the editor of the firm’s blog entitled “Blaneys Appeals”, which is dedicated to summarizing all civil law decisions released by the Court of Appeal for Ontario on a weekly basis. The blog receives several thousand reads a month and is circulated widely through various legal information media, including Mondaq, Lexology, CanLii and the Ontario Bar Association website.

John also co-authored two chapters in Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario, 2nd ed (CPPO), published by the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). CPPO is a free online annotated version of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. John also edits the firm’s Commercial Litigation Update newsletter.

 Education
  • LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, 1998
  • B.A., Economics, University of Toronto, 1995
 Practice Areas
 Called to the Bar
  • Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2000
 Assistant
Janis Balvers
 Experience
  • Anson Advisors Inc. et al v. Doxtator et al, 2024 ONSC 437, 2024 ONSC 977 (CanLII) -

    Successfully had half a million default judgment set aside and obtained almost $80,000 costs award in multi-million dollar defamation and conspiracy case. View decisions here: 2024 ONSC 437, 2024 ONSC 977
  • HK United Construction Ltd. v. Malanca, 2022 ONSC 6295 (CanLII) -

    Successfully imposed on registered owner a notice obligation and security over proceeds of sale of a valuable commercial property pending the court’s determination of the extent of our client’s interest in the property. View decision here.
  • Royal J&M Distributing Inc. v. Kimpex Inc., 2021 ONSC 3777 (CanLII) -

    Representing client in defence of breach of contract and civil conspiracy claim involving alleged contraventions of the price maintenance provisions of the Competition Act. View decision here.
  • Susan Eng v. Elizabeth Eng, 2021 ONSC 464 (CanLII) -

    Acted for client in dispute over the validity of the appointment of a litigation guardian of an elderly plaintiff. View decision here.
  • Eastern Financial Mortage Corp. v. Athanasoulis, 2020 ONSC 7815 (CanLII) -

    Acted for client in defence of claim made under a guarantee and in effort to have matter heard in foreign jurisdiction rather than Ontario. View decision here.
  • Chaitas v. Greasley, 2019 ONSC 1158 (CanLII) -

    Assisted client in compelling the sale of co-owned investment properties and obtaining a costs award. View decision here.
  • 2212886 Ontario Inc. v Obsidian Group Inc., 2016 ONSC 6836 (CanLII) -

    On behalf of a franchisor client, succeeded in obtaining permission from the court to file a late affidavit in defence of a motion for summary judgment which ended up proving critical to the client ultimately succeeding in resisting the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on appeal. View decision here.
  • Kassiouris v Kalantzis, 2017 ONSC 1985 (CanLII) -

    Succeeded in obtaining temporary injunction prohibiting landlord from locking out tenant pending an appeal, even though the client’s application to permit him to renew his lease was dismissed. View decision here.
  • Halton Standard Condominium Corp No 627 v Grandview Living Inc, [2015] OJ No 7060 (QL) (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Successfully represented a developer against a condominium board in a precedent-setting case
  • Voudouris v Appeal Tribunal of the Certified General Accountants' Assn of Ontario, 2014 ONSC 1865 (Ont Div Ct) -

    Successfully overturned a wrongful conviction of an accountant for professional misconduct. View decision here.
  • Mintz & Partners Limited v. Winter, 2013 ONSC 354 (CanLII) -

    Acted for prominent Canadian businessman in the enforcement of judgments. View decision here.
  • British Columbia (Securities Commission) v McLean, 2013 SCC 67 -

    Acted in an intervention on a securities law issue before the Supreme Court of Canada. View decision here.
  • General Electric Canada Real Estate Financing Holding Co v Liberty Assisted Living Inc., 2011 ONSC 6199 -

    Acted for lender in enforcing its security, appointing an investigative receiver and obtaining a non-dissipation order against the debtors
  • Brisbin v Lunev, 2011 ONCA 15 -

    Acted for a prominent architectural firm in a contractional dispute that involved jurisdictional issues. View decision here.
  • Nunavut (Department of Community & Government Services) v Northern Transportation Co, 2011 NUCJ 4, 2010 NUCJ 5 -

    Effectively represented the Government of Nunavut (GN) in a complex multi-million dollar products liability claim brought by the GN against the suppliers of defective gasoline that damaged over 2,000 snowmobiles owned by Inuit and other residents of Nunavut. View decision here.
  • Rannala v 1213321 Alberta Ltd, 2009 ONCA 659 -

    Acted for the plaintiff vendors in a dispute with the purchaser of the shares of a large kitchen cabinet manufacturer. View decisions here: 2009 ONCA 659, 2009 CanLII 2483.
  • West Hill Minor Hockey Assn v Scarborough Hockey Assn, [2009] OJ No 2171 (QL) (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Acted for the Greater Toronto Hockey League, the world’s largest hockey league, in an internal governance dispute between the Scarborough Youth House League and West Hill Minor Hockey Association. View decision here.
  • Le Maitre Ltd v Segeren (2007), 33 BLR (4th) 224 (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Successfully stopped a multi-million dollar transaction from proceeding at the behest of one shareholder who had not consulted or obtained approval for the deal from his client, resulting in a leading decision on the test for obtaining an injunction against a co-shareholder. View decision here.
  • Frontenac Ventures Corp. v Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, [2007] OJ No 3360 (QL) (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Represented a First Nations band involving the blockade of uranium exploration on disputed aboriginal lands
  • Frayne v Holburn Business Systems Corp (2007), 156 ACWS (3d) 518 (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Obtained a rare order for interim legal costs to be paid to his client by the other side before the case was to even be heard. View decision here.
  • Antonopoulos v Antonopoulos, [2006] OTC 105 (Ont Sup Ct J) -

    Successfully acted for husband in setting aside an order freezing the proceeds of sale of his interest in a business. View decision here.
 Recognition

Recognition

  • Recognized by Best Lawyers® in Canada 2025 in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation
  • Voted by Lexology as the Legal Influencer in Canada in Q4 2018, Q1 2019, Q3 2019, Q4 2019, Q2 2020, Q1 2021, Q3 2021, Q2 2022 and Q3 2023 for his contribution to the weekly blog, Blaneys Appeals. 
 Speaking

Speaking

 Publications

Publications

Newsletters

 In the Media

In the Media

 News

News

 Blogs

Blog Posts

 Memberships

Memberships

  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Ontario Bar Association (Past Chair, Civil Litigation Section Executive)
  • The Advocates’ Society
  • Toronto Lawyers Association
  • Hellenic Canadian Lawyers’ Association (Past President)
 Community

Community

  • Former Director, Hellenic Heritage Foundation, a charitable organization
  • Former Mentor, Ryerson University Law Practice Program, Law Society of Ontario Lawyer Licensing Program
  • Former Director, Pro Bono Community Legal Clinic, Hellenic Canadian Lawyers’ Association/Greek Community of Toronto/Pro Bono Law Ontario

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