B. Hughes

The defendants brought a motion to dismiss or permanently stay the plaintiff's construction lien action, arguing that the plaintiff failed to immediately disclose a settlement and assignment agreement with the original lien claimant, contrary to the rule in Handley Estate.

The court found that the settlement and assignment did not fundamentally alter the adversarial orientation of the litigation, as the assignee and the defendants were already adverse in interest and the original claimant's role in providing evidence did not constitute a reversal of its pleaded position.

The motion was dismissed.

The trustee in bankruptcy for several related real estate development companies brought applications to determine the priority of claims against the proceeds of a sold property and to set aside various payments and security granted to an investor, Dr. Goldfinger, as transfers at undervalue, fraudulent conveyances, or unjust preferences.

The court allowed some of the proofs of claim while disallowing others or requiring further evidence.

The court dismissed the trustee's claim to set aside a $2.5 million settlement payment to Goldfinger, finding it was made at arm's length and without intent to defraud creditors.

However, the court set aside a $471,000 payment to Goldfinger as a fraudulent conveyance, finding it was made with the intent to defeat another secured creditor, and ordered Goldfinger to repay the amount to the bankrupt estate.

In a bankruptcy proceeding involving the estate of a bankrupt developer, the moving parties sought determination of priorities among claims.

During the hearing, counsel requested that transcripts of viva voce evidence be provided in a fully searchable electronic format for use in the continuation of the hearing.

The court found the request reasonable in modern litigation practice, noting the increasing reliance on electronic transcripts by both counsel and judges.

Given the lack of standardized electronic transcript formats prescribed by the Ministry of the Attorney General, the court ordered that the transcripts be produced in a fully word-searchable electronic format.