John Dent

The appellants appealed a motion judge's decision granting judgment in the amount of $55,555.55 in accordance with a Rule 49 offer to settle.

The appellants claimed the offer had been revoked before acceptance, arguing it was revoked orally at a pretrial conference and subsequently by a second written offer.

The respondent contended the first offer had not been effectively revoked and that acceptance occurred before service of the second offer.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, finding that Rule 49 offers can only be revoked in writing, and that the respondent's acceptance of the first offer preceded service of the second offer based on credible evidence and the appellants' failure to provide an affidavit of service.

The three accused, former senior executives of Nortel Networks Corporation, were charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000.

The Crown alleged that they deliberately misrepresented Nortel's financial results by manipulating accrued liability balances to meet earnings targets and trigger bonus payments.

The court conducted a detailed review of Nortel's accounting practices, the use of accrued liabilities, and the restatements of its financial results.

The court found that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused deliberately misrepresented the financial results or that the financial statements were materially misstated.

The accused were found not guilty on both counts.