Caitlin R. Sainsbury

Robert Connor, an investment advisor, was terminated by Scotia Capital Inc. for breaching internal policies and IIROC rules.

He subsequently signed a settlement agreement and release.

Connor later initiated a civil action against Scotia for wrongful dismissal, defamation, and conversion of his book of business.

Scotia brought a motion to dismiss the action, asserting the enforceability of the settlement agreement and release.

The court analyzed Connor's claims that Scotia breached a duty of good faith, made fraudulent misrepresentations, that the agreement was unconscionable, and that it was unenforceable due to his mental state and lack of legal advice.

The court found no merit in Connor's allegations, concluding that the settlement agreement and release were valid and enforceable.

Consequently, Scotia's motion was granted, and Connor's action was dismissed with costs.

This class action involved two motions: approval of three settlements totaling $39.2 million in an FX market price-fixing conspiracy case, and approval of Class Counsel's fees and disbursements.

The court approved the settlements, finding them fair and reasonable given the litigation risks and the stage of the proceedings.

However, the court partially denied Class Counsel's request for $9.8 million in fees, approving only an additional $2 million, citing that the achieved recovery (5 cents on the dollar against a potential $1 billion loss) was respectable but not "very good," and that the claimed litigation risks were somewhat exaggerated given prior regulatory findings and U.S. settlements.

The court emphasized the need for diligence in approving contingency fees in settlements to ensure they are provident for class members, not just counsel.

The liquidator of LWP Capital Inc. brought a motion for declaratory relief regarding a dispute over a working capital adjustment following the sale of its special crops division to the respondent.

The applicant argued the respondent was estopped from disputing the preliminary closing working capital and that the dispute resolution mechanism in the Asset Purchase Agreement was not properly engaged.

The court dismissed the motion, finding no estoppel and holding that the dispute over the net realizable value of the inventory properly triggered the expert determination process under the agreement.

The plaintiffs sought leave to amend their statement of claim to incorporate findings from a Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) disciplinary panel concerning a salesperson, David Karas, whose conduct was central to the plaintiffs' indemnity claim against the defendant.

The defendant opposed the amendments, arguing irrelevance, improper pleading of similar fact evidence, and inadmissibility of the panel's findings.

The Master found the proposed amendments relevant and determined they did not improperly plead similar fact evidence.

The Master allowed most of the amendments, permitting the pleading of the MFDA panel's conclusions regarding specific rule breaches and the imposed penalty, but disallowed the pleading of the panel's "reasons" or characterizations of Karas's conduct.

The decision clarified that the admissibility and weight of such regulatory findings in the civil action would be determined by the trial judge.

The appellant appealed a master's decision refusing relief from the deemed undertaking rule to permit use of discovery evidence outside the litigation.

The moving party sought to disclose documentary discovery to a securities regulator and to police authorities in order to report alleged regulatory violations and perjury by a non-party.

The court held that relief from the deemed undertaking rule requires an evidentiary foundation demonstrating a superior public interest in disclosure, consistent with the principles in Juman v. Doucette.

The appellant failed to provide the discovery documents or identify the specific regulatory or criminal violations allegedly revealed, and its affidavit evidence was speculative and inadmissible in parts.

The appeal was dismissed.