John N. Birch

The moving parties, a syndicate of six banks, sought to partially lift an automatic stay of a bankruptcy order pending appeal under s. 195 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

The banks argued that the appellant was frustrating the bankruptcy process and might dissipate her assets.

The court found that the appellant's grounds of appeal were extremely weak and that maintaining the stay would prejudice the banks by preventing the trustee from identifying and preserving assets.

The court granted the motion, partially lifting the stay to allow the trustee to exercise specific powers under the BIA.

The plaintiff's representative refused to proceed with an examination for discovery because the defendant brought two corporate representatives, including the president's wife, which the plaintiff found intimidating.

The plaintiff moved for an order limiting the defendant to one representative at the examination.

The court granted the motion, holding that the onus is on the party seeking to have multiple representatives present to establish necessity, which the defendant failed to do.

The Receiver brought an unopposed motion seeking approval of three asset purchase agreements to sell substantially all of the debtors' assets as a going concern in a 'quick flip' transaction.

The court applied the Soundair principles, finding that the sales process was fair, the market was sufficiently canvassed, and the transaction was the best available option to maximize recovery for the senior secured creditor.

The court also approved the use of a credit bid for partial payment and granted a sealing order for the purchase agreements and valuation reports to protect sensitive commercial information.

The applicant sought an order appointing Grant Thornton Limited as receiver of the respondents pursuant to section 243 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and section 101 of the Courts of Justice Act.

The respondents, operating a travel agency business, were insolvent and in default of their credit facilities.

The application was unopposed.

The court found it just and convenient to appoint the receiver to facilitate a going concern sale of the business, preserving consumer confidence and employee jobs.