Jessica Kimmel

In CCAA proceedings involving a major Canadian retailer in insolvency, Employee Representative Counsel brought a motion to approve a Hardship Programs Term Sheet providing three programs to alleviate hardships for vulnerable non-unionized former employees: a Trust Program extending and settling long-term disability benefits for approximately 157 former employees funded through a pre-existing trust, a Woodwards Replacement Policy funded through a company reserve fund, and an Employee Hardship Program funded by $250,000 in foregone secured lender payments.

The court approved the Term Sheet as fair, reasonable, beneficial to stakeholders, and consistent with the purpose and spirit of the CCAA.

Ancillary relief including releases, declaratory relief characterizing Employee Hardship Fund payments as non-earnings for EI purposes, and a sealing order protecting personal information of LTD recipients and trustees were also granted.

An unsupported objection by one individual was dismissed as lacking credible basis.

In an insolvency receivership involving Yorkdale leasehold interests, the court considered whether to approve a receiver-negotiated sublease entered without landlord consent and whether ancillary relief should issue.

Applying the contractual framework under the Head Lease and Commercial Tenancies Act, and considering insolvency discretion under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the court held the landlord had not unreasonably withheld consent.

The court further held that s. 84.1 of the BIA did not apply directly or by analogy to the proposed sublease structure.

On a broader stakeholder-balancing analysis, the court found unfairness in the process and insufficient commercial soundness to justify discretionary approval.

The motion to approve the new sublease was dismissed, and ancillary relief was not addressed.

Corus Entertainment Inc. and 17311737 Canada Inc. sought and obtained a preliminary interim order in connection with a proposed arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act.

The court granted a stay of rights and remedies against the Corus Entities until December 18, 2025, to provide breathing space for the applicants to finalize definitive documentation for a recapitalization transaction.

The transaction is designed to significantly reduce the company's debt and annual cash interest costs while extending maturity dates.

The applicants demonstrated compliance with statutory requirements and good faith in pursuing the arrangement following a formal strategic review.

The stay does not affect obligations to trade creditors, suppliers, customers, or employees.

A receiver appointed over Wynn Realty Corporation sought approval of a proposed distribution of recovered funds to the plaintiff and intervenors who initiated the receivership.

The insurance coverholder objected, asserting subrogated and assigned claims on behalf of the insurer for amounts paid to fraud victims under a mandatory consumer deposit insurance policy.

The court rejected both the subrogation claim and the assignment-based claim, finding that the common law prohibition against insurers suing their own insureds applies and cannot be circumvented through assignments.

However, the court determined that the proposed distribution improperly excluded other similarly situated consumers and directed that all known consumers be included in an equitable distribution.

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.

A non-party jewelry business sought to enforce an alleged settlement agreement with a bank arising from a fraud claim.

The bank alleged that funds from a fraudulent transaction were deposited into the jewelry business's account.

The jewelry business claimed it had reached a binding settlement agreement to pay the outstanding balance in exchange for a comprehensive release.

The court found that while the parties were engaged in settlement negotiations, they did not reach agreement on all essential terms, particularly regarding payment security covenants and a "no claims over" provision that would have precluded the bank from pursuing its primary defendant.

The motion to enforce the settlement was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the bank.

The defendants brought a motion seeking a partial sealing order in respect of designated confidential information they wished to rely upon for a jurisdiction motion.

The confidential information related to the defendants' corporate organization and structure, web crawling and fetching processes, and model training and inference processes.

The court applied the three-part test from Sherman Estate v. Donovan and Sierra Club of Canada v. Canada (Minister of Finance) to determine whether to grant the sealing order.

The court found that disclosure of the confidential information posed a serious risk to the important public interest of fair competition in the artificial intelligence industry, that no reasonable alternative measures would prevent this risk, and that the benefits of the order outweighed its negative effects on the open court principle.

The partial sealing order was granted.

The Ontario Securities Commission sought the appointment of a receiver over the assets of Traders Global Group Inc. and related entities based on allegations of fraud and unregistered securities trading.

The receiver was appointed in January 2024.

More than nineteen months later, the respondents brought a motion to discharge the receiver, and the receiver sought directions regarding disclosure of data to the Commission.

The court found that significant changes in circumstances had occurred since the appointment, including the dismissal of related U.S. proceedings due to misconduct by CFTC staff whose evidence had supported the receivership appointment, the discovery of a Nova Scotia decision that undermined the novelty of the Commission's legal theory, and substantial delay in the investigation without issuance of an Application for Enforcement Proceeding.

The court granted the respondents' alternative request to vary the appointment order, reducing the frozen assets from tens of millions to $10 million in escrow, while retaining the receiver to administer the escrow and act as intermediary for data disclosure.

The court also confirmed the receiver's authority to share non-privileged data with the Commission under the appointment order.

The City of Toronto sought the appointment of a receiver and manager over the property, assets, and undertaking of Harry Sherman Crowe Housing Co-operative Inc. due to operational, financial, and governance challenges.

The court addresses the Receiver’s motion for approval of its activities, fees, and a proposed process (RFEIQ) for identifying and qualifying future board members to transition the Co-op out of receivership.

The court approves the Receiver’s activities and fees, and partially approves the RFEIQ process, requiring further reporting and court oversight before any subjective vetting of board candidates.

The court considered whether service of an application record on the Republic of Argentina in a proceeding to enforce a U.S. judgment had to comply with the Hague Convention or could be validly effected through diplomatic channels under the State Immunity Act.

The court held that the State Immunity Act provides three non-hierarchical, alternative methods for service on a foreign state, and that service through diplomatic channels was valid.

The Republic’s motion for a declaration that it had not been duly served was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the applicants.

The court considered a motion by the JDH Defendants for production and disclosure of documents over which the plaintiffs claimed privilege in an oppression and breach of fiduciary duty action.

The court found that the plaintiffs met their initial onus to establish litigation privilege over communications from and after December 16, 2019, and denied the defendants’ request for the court to review the 282 documents.

The court ordered both sides to produce redacted versions of privileged documents (excluding those with current litigation counsel and post-litigation communications) and to meet and confer regarding any non-privileged questions.

No costs were awarded to either side.

The court considered a motion by the plaintiffs for interim and interlocutory relief restraining the use of corporate funds by J.D.H. Holdings Limited to pay the defendants' legal and professional fees in an oppression action.

The plaintiffs also sought an accounting and repayment of such funds, or, in the alternative, a partial reimbursement to Jonshal Enterprises Inc. The court dismissed the motion, finding that the plaintiffs had not established irreparable harm or overwhelming fairness concerns to justify the relief sought, and that any damages could be addressed at trial.

This decision concerns an appeal under section 45(2) of the Arbitration Act, 1991, from an arbitral award regarding four disputes arising out of a major public-private partnership infrastructure project (Highway 427 expansion).

The appellant, His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario (as represented by the Minister of Transportation and Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation), challenged the arbitral tribunal’s interpretation of the Project Agreement on four issues: the Crossfall Dispute, the Zenway Boulevard Dispute, the 407 ETR Dispute, and the 2014-2016 Dispute.

The court held that the tribunal correctly identified and applied the principles of contractual interpretation, found no extricable errors of law, and dismissed the appeal.

This decision concerns the sanction for contempt and the allocation of costs following findings that the defendants failed to comply with a court order (the "Turnover Order") in a complex commercial dispute.

The court awards full indemnity costs to the plaintiffs for the contempt motion, reduced by 25% due to Charter breaches, and substantial indemnity costs to the defendants for a successful Charter-based stay motion.

The court also addresses the principles of set-off and mutuality of debt in the context of competing costs awards.

This decision concerns the approval of a sale process and a motion to appoint the sales officer as receiver in the context of a deadlocked insurance brokerage business.

The court approves the sale process and related ancillary relief, including the appointment of an interim broker and non-solicitation orders, but dismisses the motion to appoint the sales officer as receiver.

The ruling addresses issues of conflict of interest, compliance with prior orders, and the preservation of assets pending winding up.

The court was asked to decide between the debtors’ application for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the Toronto-Dominion Bank’s application for the appointment of a receiver.

After reviewing the facts and arguments, the court concluded that it was most just and convenient to appoint a receiver, dismissing the CCAA application.

The decision reviews the history of the debtors’ restructuring efforts, the positions of the parties, and the legal principles governing the choice between CCAA and receivership, ultimately finding that the interests of the senior secured creditor should prevail in the circumstances.

This costs endorsement follows the court’s summary judgment decision in favour of HSBC Bank Canada against Antonio Guido, enforcing a guarantee and dismissing Guido’s $11 million counterclaim.

The court reviews the parties’ submissions on the scale and quantum of costs, ultimately awarding HSBC substantial indemnity costs, but in a reduced amount, having regard to proportionality, fairness, and reasonableness under Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The decision addresses the contractual entitlement to substantial indemnity costs, the complexity and conduct of the litigation, and the appropriate adjustment of costs claimed.