Lawrence E. Ritchie

The plaintiff, Alex M. Bodnarchuk, brought a consent motion to certify a class action for settlement purposes and to obtain leave to proceed with a secondary market misrepresentation claim under the Ontario Securities Act against Guestlogix Inc., Brett Proud, and Patrick Leung.

The action alleged misrepresentations and omissions regarding credit facilities and financial covenants.

The parties reached a settlement of $1,275,000.

The court granted leave, finding the action was brought in good faith and had a reasonable possibility of success for settlement purposes.

The court also certified the action as a class proceeding for settlement purposes, finding all criteria under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met.

The order approved the settlement notices and procedures for opt-outs and objections, and set a date for the settlement approval hearing.

The Fund brought a motion seeking payment of $1 million in deferred proceeds under a share purchase agreement and a declaration that Newbury's removal of the general partner of a limited partnership contravened a CCAA stay order.

The court granted the order for deferred proceeds, interpreting the agreement's clear language and factual matrix to mean payment was contingent only on the absence of Canadian Exit Tax, not on profit or loss from the sale of securities.

The court dismissed the request regarding the stay order, finding it did not extend to the general partner or partnership.

Costs were awarded to the Fund.

The Superior Court of Justice approved a $26.5 million settlement in a securities class action against Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and its officers/directors.

The court emphasized the "zone of reasonableness" analysis for settlement approval, requiring class counsel to provide sufficient evidence, particularly regarding available insurance coverage, to justify the settlement amount.

Leave was granted under the Securities Act and the action was certified for settlement purposes under the Class Proceedings Act.

Class counsel's contingency fees of 33% were also approved.