Edmond F. B. Lamek

The applicants, five community futures organizations, sought the appointment of MNP Ltd. as receiver over Future Health Technologies Inc. (FHT) under section 243 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and section 101 of the Courts of Justice Act.

FHT provides technology and technical support for the Community Paramedicine Remote Patient Monitoring Program (CPRPM), which delivers free tele-home monitoring services to approximately 1,500 chronically ill patients in rural Ontario.

The respondent, 2804476 Ontario Inc., opposed the application, arguing the receivership was a scheme to seize control of disputed intellectual property.

The court found that FHT was insolvent, that the appointment of a receiver was necessary to preserve critical healthcare services, and that the applicants held valid secured debt.

The court appointed the receiver and granted a stay of proceedings in related litigation, while confirming that the receiver would not take possession of disputed intellectual property without further court order.

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 respondent brought a motion to remove the court-appointed liquidator of a real estate company, alleging a conflict of interest and collaboration with the applicant Estate.

The liquidator sought approval of its activities, fees, and an extension of a listing agreement for the sale of properties.

The court dismissed the motion to remove the liquidator, finding no evidence of bad faith or blatant intentional action contrary to the interests of the parties.

The court approved the liquidator's fees and the extension of the listing agreement, noting the fees were fair and reasonable.

A motion was brought by 40 purchasers of residential units from various Urbancorp entities in CCAA and BIA NOI proceedings.

The purchasers sought the appointment of Dickinson Wright LLP as their representative counsel and an order for their legal fees, capped at $150,000, to be paid and secured by an administrative charge against the four properties.

The properties were vacant land, and the significant deposits received by Urbancorp companies were not held in trust and had been spent.

The motion was supported by Tarion but opposed by the Monitor, the Foreign Representative of Urbancorp Inc., the Urbancorp entities, and certain other purchasers and a secured lender for one project.

The court granted the appointment of Dickinson Wright as representative counsel, but stipulated an opt-in process for purchasers rather than an opt-out.

The court denied the request for an administrative charge for legal fees, ruling that fees and disbursements could be paid by the estates from the distributions made to those purchasers who chose to be represented by Dickinson Wright.

The appellant appealed a Notice of Disallowance issued by the trustee in bankruptcy of MF Global Canada Co. The appellant claimed the net positive balance of his futures account either on the day before the bankruptcy or on the date of bankruptcy.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the decline in the account's value prior to bankruptcy was due to market forces, not a breach by the bankrupt.

Furthermore, the appellant had ignored margin calls exceeding his account balance, and the trustee was entitled to set off the appellant's debt against any amount owed.

The appellants, holding unsecured crossover bonds, appealed a CCAA judge's decision that the common law 'interest stops' rule applies in CCAA proceedings, preventing them from claiming post-filing interest above their principal debt and pre-petition interest.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, confirming that the 'interest stops' rule is a fundamental tenet of insolvency law that applies to CCAA proceedings to ensure fair treatment of creditors and orderly administration.

The Court clarified that while creditors cannot legally claim post-filing interest, the rule does not preclude a negotiated CCAA plan from providing for such payments.

In a court‑appointed receivership over payroll service companies, the receiver sought a declaration that a customer breached the stay provision of the receivership order by recalling funds previously transferred through a pre‑authorized debit.

The funds had already been deposited into the debtor’s consolidated account prior to the receivership order but were later reversed after the customer learned of the receivership.

The court held that once deposited, the funds constituted “Property” of the debtor within the meaning of the receivership order, even if intended for payroll.

By requesting reimbursement through its bank after receiving notice of the receivership, the customer exercised a remedy affecting the debtor’s property and breached the stay.

The court ordered repayment of the funds to the receiver with interest, while allowing the customer to prove a claim in the receivership distribution.

The applicant sought a stay of an Ontario Court of Appeal order pending an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The application was made directly to the Supreme Court pursuant to s. 65.1 of the Supreme Court Act.

The Court dismissed the application for a stay, noting that under recent amendments, such applications should generally be made first to the court appealed from unless there are special circumstances.

The dismissal was without prejudice to the applicant renewing the stay application before the Court of Appeal.