The plaintiffs, Whitesand First Nation and a holding company, sought to maintain a Mareva injunction freezing assets of the defendants up to $17.55 million CDN.
The defendants had received grant funds from the plaintiffs to secure financing for a biomass power plant project but failed to obtain financing by the contractual deadline.
The defendants moved to set aside the Mareva injunction, arguing insufficient disclosure on the ex parte motion, and sought security for costs and a stay pending alternative dispute resolution.
The court found the plaintiffs made full and fair disclosure, met the test for a Mareva injunction, and dismissed all of the defendants' motions.
The court found the underlying agreement was null and void as the defendants failed to secure financing by the deadline, and therefore the ADR provisions no longer bound the parties.
