Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission brought a motion for an order authorizing the disclosure of certain documents for a hearing on the merits.
The receiver of Philip Services Corp. claimed solicitor-client privilege over the documents.
The Commission found that privilege over the documents was waived when they were disclosed to the company's auditors, who were acting as third parties rather than agents for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.
The Commission also found that the company failed to take reasonable steps to protect the privilege and had put the legal opinions in issue.
The motion was granted, and the documents were ordered to be disclosed.
