The trustee administering the HCV Fund established under a Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act plan for the Canadian Red Cross Society sought directions regarding approximately $483,983 in settlement funds represented by uncashed cheques issued to class members who could not be located.
The court considered three potential approaches: redistributing the funds to known partially paid claimants, transferring the funds to governmental and institutional bodies to attempt to locate missing beneficiaries, or adopting a hybrid approach.
Emphasizing proportionality and the objective of maximizing compensation to class members, the court held that redistributing the funds to known partially paid claimants provided the greatest certainty of placing the funds with eligible victims.
The court therefore approved redistribution of the unclaimed funds among partially paid claimants and authorized the trustee to donate any residual amounts to a charity if further distribution would be impractical.
