The Honourable J. Douglas Cunningham, K.C. was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court in 1991 and in his more than two decades of distinguished judicial service, he presided over hundreds of complex, high-stake trials. From 2000-2002, he was the Regional Senior Judge for the East Region, based in Ottawa, Canada. In 2002, Mr. Cunningham was appointed Associate Chief Justice of the court based in Toronto, Canada, a position he held until his early retirement from the Court in September 2012.
While on the court, Mr. Cunningham was a member of the Canadian Judicial Council where he served as a member of the Executive Committee and chaired the Administration of Justice Committee. He was also a member of the Court Martial Appeals Court and the Pension Appeals Board.
Throughout his judicial career, Mr. Cunningham focused on complex civil litigation matters and as well was regularly called upon to mediate challenging high-stakes cases. His reputation for success in settling cases is well known throughout the Ontario bar and beyond.
In 2012, Cunningham Dispute Resolution Services Ltd. was founded and since 2016, Mr. Cunningham has been a resident arbitrator and mediator at Arbitration Place based in Toronto and Ottawa with retainers across Canada and internationally. In this role, he leverages his extensive experience in the service of counsel and parties looking for fair, creative and efficient resolution of their disputes.
Mr. Cunningham has a unique ability to not only understand the legal issues but also to quickly appreciate the dynamics and the interests of the parties involved in a dispute. A quick study, he is a patient, thoughtful listener whose creativity in fashioning results in complex cases is well known and appreciated.
In addition to his busy arbitration and mediation practice, Mr. Cunningham has regularly been called upon by both the Federal and Provincial governments to conduct important and timely assignments. These include the Mississauga Judicial Inquiry, the review of Tarion Corporation, a review of the dispute resolution mechanisms under the Insurance Act, a review of elevator availability problems in Ontario, and most recently as a member of a three-person panel reviewing issues within the Ontario Provincial Police force.
Mr. Cunningham is a graduate of Western University (Huron College) and Queen’s University Law School. Called to the bar in 1969, he was appointed a King’s Counsel in 1980 and designated a specialist in civil litigation in 1990. In 2013, he received an honourary LL.D. from the Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Cunningham as well has attended the Harvard and Cornell universities mediation programs.
Mr. Cunningham has arbitrated and mediated a wide variety of cases since 2012. These include business/commercial disputes (including high-tech), class action litigation, employment, construction, estates, insurance, professional liability (legal, medical and accounting), securities, serious personal injury and entertainment/sports disputes. As well, Mr. Cunningham has successfully mediated a number of clergy abuse cases across Canada.
