A summary of recent Canadian insolvency-focused court decisions.
Can an exercise of set-off rights be contrary to the CCAA? The Applicant, Carillion, applied for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act following the liquidation proceedings of its parent company in the United Kingdom. The Initial order contained a number of provisions which affected Carillion’s operations…
Can counsel for the petitioning creditor also represent the trustee in examinations? The Bankrupt made an assignment into bankruptcy in February 2022, following an unsuccessful appeal of a judgment in excess of $1 million. A trustee was appointed over the estate of the bankrupt. The…
When might a Court grant a Sale and Vesting Approval Order with respect to a “pre-packaged” sale absent a third-party sales or marketing process? The Applicant, Winmar (Canada) International Ltd. (“Winmar”) is a franchisor whose franchisees provide property restoration services to both commercial and residential…
Can a stalking horse bid be made subject to a right to redeem the property? The Receiver of a six-storey commercial project in Vancouver (“Gateway”) ascertained that a significant amount of work was required to bring the project to completion, estimated to cost in excess…
What is the test for the assignment of a claim under s. 38 of the BIA? In May 2016, Grewal made an assignment into bankruptcy. Over three years later, a group of his creditors—whose aggregate unsecured debt totaled almost $5 million—requested that the Trustee in…
Is a securities commission fine discharged in bankruptcy? The British Columbia Securities Commission found that the Poonians had breached s. 57(a) of the British Columbia Securities Act by manipulating the share price of OSE Corp., an Ontario company whose shares traded on the TSXV, and selling overpriced…
What is the COMI for a Canadian company with significant operations in the US? Voyager, a company with its registered office at a law firm in British Columbia, operates a cryptocurrency brokerage and custodial and lending services via its United States subsidiaries. In July 2022,…
Does a consent judgment fall within section 178 of the BIA and survive a discharge? The appellant Heidary granted a mortgage to the respondent M.O.S. MortgageOne Solutions, which ranked third in priority, behind the first mortgage held by Manulife Financial and various Minister of National…
Can a payment made to the debtor one day before bankruptcy be returned on the basis of a constructive trust? Ayerswood was the general contractor on an apartment building project in Guelph, Ontario. Sirius, a concrete forming company, was hired by Ayerswood in 2018 to…
Is leave required to sue a trustee in bankruptcy in a personal capacity? The Debtor made assignments in bankruptcy on four occasions: in 2004, 2006, 2011, and 2016. The appellant firm, Adamson Inc., was the trustee in respect of each of these bankruptcies. The individual appellant, Adamson,…