G. Bent

The court determined how to divide $406,000 in insurance settlement proceeds between a mother and son after a fire destroyed their family poultry processing plant.

The parties had rebuilt the plant using a combination of insurance, mortgages, and personal funds, but did not have a clear written agreement on how to divide any insurance settlement.

The court found that both parties contributed roughly equally to the reconstruction and ordered the insurance settlement to be divided equally.

Claims of unconscionability and unjust enrichment were rejected.

The defendant corporation moved for summary judgment dismissing a claim in which the plaintiff sought declarations of ownership of company shares and oppression relief under the Business Corporations Act.

The plaintiff alleged entitlement to common and Class B shares arising from an asset purchase agreement and option agreement connected to the sale of an engineering business.

The court held that the plaintiff failed to comply with the contractual requirements for subscribing to the shares, including payment and exercise of the option price specified in the agreements.

As a result, the plaintiff never acquired shareholder rights and the claim had no reasonable prospect of success.

Summary judgment was granted dismissing the action in its entirety.