A summary of recent Canadian insolvency-focused court decisions.

Rodgers (re), 2022 NSSC 312

Do special considerations apply to the discharge of a bankrupt lawyer? Adam Rodgers sought to be discharged from bankruptcy following completion of his statutory duties. Rodgers was one of two partners of a now-defunct law firm. The law firm was placed in receivership in January…

Urbancorp Inc. v. 994697 Ontario Inc., 2023 ONCA 126

What is an order that is "made under" the CCAA for the purposes of leave to appeal? On October 6, 2016, the Urbancorp companies were placed under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and The Fuller Landau Group Inc. was appointed as their Monitor. The…

PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. v. Northern Citadel, 2023 ONSC 37

What is the test for the appointment of an investigative receiver? PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (the "Applicant”), the Court-appointed Receiver and Manager of Bridging Finance Inc. (“Bridging”), sought an order appointing Richter Inc. (“Richter”) as receiver and manager of all of the current and future assets, undertakings…

9056-6316 Québec inc. c. Stationnement Safeway Canada ltée, 2023 QCCS 461

Do government-ordered closures free a commercial tenant from its obligation to pay rent? 9056-6316 Québec Inc. (the “Landlord”) was a corporation specialized in real estate management. It owned two large commercial buildings on Saint-Antoine West Street in downtown Montréal, and the adjacent parking lot. Safeway…

Williams Moving & Storage (B.C.) Ltd. (Re), 2023 BCSC 205

What is the test for rectifying a BIA proposal? Williams Moving & Storage (B.C.) Ltd. applied for the rectification of a bankruptcy proposal sanctioned and approved in accordance with the BIA by order of the Court issued May 19, 2015 (the “May Order”). In 2019,…

Rose-Isli Corp. v. Frame-Tech Structures Ltd., 2023 ONSC 832

How will the Court decide competing motions for an AVO vs. a request to redeem a mortgage? 2735440 Ontario Inc. (“273 Ontario”) was both a second mortgagee that wanted to be paid and a joint venture participant in the Rosehill Project that was to be…

Gaum v. Grant Thornton Limited, 2023 NSCA 5

Can a creditor apply to have the court declare a proposal to have been refused after the meeting of creditors? On July 16, 2018, Gaum filed a Proposal pursuant to Part III, Division I of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.  The Trustee in bankruptcy recommended the…

Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2023 ONSC 83

How is the value of a disclaimed contract determined? In February 2021, Laurentian University applied for and obtained protection from its creditors under the CCAA. On April 1, 2021, Laurentian delivered a Notice of Disclaimer of the Federation Agreement to the Appellant, Thorneloe, pursuant to…

EncoreFX Inc. (Re), 2023 BCSC 39

What is the appropriate way to address extant bankruptcy proceedings after debts have been dealt with under a subsequent CCAA? EncoreFX Inc. (“EncoreFX”) was in the business of providing foreign exchange or “FX” risk management services and cross-border payment solutions. On March 30, 2020, it…