Brendan Bissell

A commercial loan dispute involving a bus company's default on a $559,250 equipment financing agreement.

The lender sought judgment for the full remaining balance plus interest and enforcement costs after the borrower ceased payments, failed to maintain insurance, and secretly sold the financed bus without notice.

The court determined that the acceleration clause, not the prepayment clause, applied following the borrower's multiple defaults.

The court rejected the borrower's arguments that section 17 of the Mortgages Act or section 8 of the Interest Act capped the lender's recovery, finding these provisions inapplicable to commercial loan agreements.

The court awarded judgment to the lender for the net amount owing after crediting the bus sale proceeds and security deposit.

The applicants, QM GP Inc. and Highpoint Environmental Services Inc., sought an initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and a lien regularization order.

The applicants sought protection to address acute liquidity crisis, interim financing, and relief to stabilize operations.

The court granted the initial order with certain modifications, approving interim debtor-in-possession financing, appointment of a monitor, administration and directors' charges, and a lien regularization order.

The court also granted a temporary stay on performance bond calls and certain indemnity obligations, with the Kingsdale Letter of Credit issue deferred to the comeback hearing.

The court was asked to decide between the debtors’ application for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the Toronto-Dominion Bank’s application for the appointment of a receiver.

After reviewing the facts and arguments, the court concluded that it was most just and convenient to appoint a receiver, dismissing the CCAA application.

The decision reviews the history of the debtors’ restructuring efforts, the positions of the parties, and the legal principles governing the choice between CCAA and receivership, ultimately finding that the interests of the senior secured creditor should prevail in the circumstances.

In the context of CCAA proceedings, the applicants sought a Funding Order to compel Securitization Parties and other secured lenders to fund a $40 million wind-down of the remaining entities.

The court dismissed the motion for the Funding Order, finding that section 11.01(b) of the CCAA expressly prohibits orders requiring the further advance of money or credit.

Consequently, the court also declined to approve a Key Employee Retention Plan, as it was dependent on the unavailable funding.

The court did, however, grant a temporary sealing order for the KERP details and extended the stay of proceedings to November 29, 2024.

In a Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceeding, the applicants sought court approval for the sale of a real property, the Monitor's reports, a revised governance protocol, and a sale and investor solicitation process (SISP) for their logistics business.

The court approved the property sale, finding it met the Soundair Principles despite not being a court-supervised process.

The Monitor's reports and activities were also approved.

The proposed SISP was approved with a minor amendment requiring the Monitor to consult directly affected secured creditors.

The Revised Governance Protocol, which included default commission rates for vehicle sales and collections, was approved as an interim measure, balancing the need for cost recovery with creditor concerns, noting that financiers could negotiate alternative rates or withhold consent to sales.

The applicants, Pride Group Holdings Inc. et al., sought an amended and restated initial order under the CCAA, including an extension of the stay period, approval of a debtor-in-possession (DIP) facility, elevation of charge priorities, confirmation against set-off, and approval of governance, real estate monetization, and intercompany/unsecured claims preservation protocols.

The court granted the requested stay extension to June 30, 2024, approved the $30 million DIP facility, and approved all proposed protocols.

The court declined to add an exception to the paramountcy provision as requested by certain securitization funders and approved a carve-out for Triumph Business Capital but limited it to CDN $3 million.

The appellants appealed an approval and vesting order that authorized a receiver to sell a property in receivership.

One of the appellants, a second mortgagee, sought to redeem the first mortgage or be recognized as a successful creditor bidder, arguing an absolute right to redeem under the Mortgages Act.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming the motions judge's decision that the right to redeem is qualified once a court-approved sales process has been undertaken in a receivership.

The court emphasized balancing the right to redeem against the integrity of the court-supervised sales process, finding no error in the motions judge's conclusion that the sales process was fair and the balance favoured its integrity.

The Construction Receiver brought a motion for approval of its activities, fees, final distribution, and discharge.

Terra Firma, the highest-ranking secured creditor, brought a second motion seeking distribution of a $202,500 Park Levy Reserve collected from unrepresented condominium purchasers.

The court granted the Receiver's motion but dismissed Terra Firma's motion, finding that the Park Levy was mistakenly collected, never became the property of the debtor, and therefore could not form part of Terra Firma's collateral.

The Receiver was directed to return the funds to the unrepresented purchasers.

The Bondfield Group, a major construction company, sought CCAA protection due to insolvency, over $1 billion in active contracts, and over 200 lawsuits.

The application was unopposed and resulted from extensive stakeholder negotiations.

The court granted an initial order for CCAA protection, including a stay of proceedings, approval of a tailored $8 million Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) facility funded by Zurich Insurance, an Administration Charge for professional fees, and a Directors' Charge for $3 million (excluding John Aquino).

The court emphasized the public interest in completing critical infrastructure projects and the preference for CCAA over receivership to preserve enterprise value.