D. Laframboise

The moving party, Gaspare Caruso, brought a motion to annul the bankruptcy of 1947755 Ontario Ltd. under s. 181(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

The assignment in bankruptcy had been made by John Hanna Nissan amidst a protracted dispute over corporate control.

The court found that the corporation was not insolvent at the time of the assignment, as its assets exceeded its liabilities and it could have met its obligations with a modicum of effort.

Furthermore, the court held that the assignment was an abuse of process, strategically timed to avoid scheduled examinations in the ongoing litigation.

The motion to annul the bankruptcy was granted.

The plaintiffs appealed a Master's interlocutory orders dismissing their motions to remove the defendant's counsel of record and for security for costs.

The plaintiffs argued the defendant's counsel had a conflict of interest because he previously articled at the firm representing the plaintiffs.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal regarding the removal of counsel, finding the appeal was out of time and, in any event, the Master did not err in allowing the counsel to argue the motion despite being an affiant, nor in refusing to remove him given the lack of confidential information possessed.

The appeal regarding security for costs was remitted back to the Master because no reasons had been provided for its dismissal.

The plaintiff mortgagee brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendant mortgagor and guarantor for the balance owing on a mortgage and for dismissal of the defendants' counterclaim.

The defendants failed to file responding materials on time or submit to cross-examination.

The Master granted summary judgment for the plaintiff on the main action for $102,353.27, finding no genuine issue requiring a trial.

The Master also dismissed the defendants' counterclaim for breach of fiduciary duty but declined to dismiss the remaining counterclaims for trespass and vandalism, finding the plaintiff's evidence insufficient to refute those specific allegations.