D.J. Miller

The EMEA Debtors sought leave to appeal an order approving an Allocation Protocol that provided for a joint trial by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to allocate over US$7 billion in proceeds from the sale of Nortel assets.

The moving parties argued the joint trial violated the Ontario court's independence and that the parties had previously agreed to binding arbitration.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motion for leave to appeal, finding the proposed appeal lacked prima facie merit as the joint trial did not infringe judicial independence and the relevant agreement did not mandate arbitration.

The appellants appealed an order finding them in contempt of a previous court order and sought leave to appeal a costs order of approximately $92,000.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's finding that the appellants knowingly and intentionally ignored the previous order and attempted to hide assets to frustrate the respondent's rights as a creditor.

The court also found no basis to interfere with the motion judge's exercise of discretion in awarding costs on a full indemnity basis.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant landlord appealed an order permitting a receiver to take over the tenant's position under a commercial lease.

The landlord argued the motion judges exercised their discretion in an unprincipled way and that there was material non-disclosure on a without notice motion.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the receivership order justly balanced the interests of the employees and the landlord, as the landlord was receiving rent and had not shown prejudice.

The court also found no palpable and overriding error in the finding of no material non-disclosure.