Erin E.M. Ellis

The Licensed Insolvency Trustee of the Estate of the late Robert Simpson, a convicted child sexual abuser, moved for a court order to impose a claims bar date for the filing of Proofs of Claim.

The Trustee sought this to bring certainty to the Estate's liabilities and facilitate distributions to existing creditors, primarily the victims.

The court, while acknowledging the Trustee's efforts and the deserving nature of the claimants, declined to grant the order based on its inherent jurisdiction.

The court found that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) provides a comprehensive statutory framework (sections 148-154) for managing dividends and claims, which substantially achieves the Trustee's objectives.

The court directed the Trustee to proceed under these BIA provisions, ensuring notice to potential claimants and allowing for timely distribution to known creditors, while clarifying that late claims would not be extinguished but would be limited to any remaining funds without disturbing prior distributions.

The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) brought a motion for leave to intervene as a friend of the court in an appeal.

The underlying appeal concerned the dismissal of an action for delay, specifically involving claims of historical sexual and physical abuse.

OTLA proposed to argue that the Rules of Civil Procedure create an "absurdity" by allowing certain plaintiffs whose actions are dismissed for delay to re-commence their actions, but not those dismissed at a status hearing, particularly for claims not subject to limitation periods.

The motion was dismissed for several reasons, including that the proposed intervention introduced new issues and arguments not raised by the appellants, lacked factual evidence, would significantly expand the scope of the appeal, and was a tardy motion that would likely require an adjournment.

Costs were awarded against OTLA.