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Adjudicator recused herself from merits panel due to social relationship with key witness.
The Ontario Securities Commission brought a motion requesting that the adjudicator recuse herself from the merits panel due to a reasonable apprehension of bias.
The adjudicator had a social relationship with a key witness for the Commission, having previously worked with the witness's spouse and attended their wedding.
The respondents opposed the motion, arguing that the capital markets community is small and such connections are common.
The adjudicator granted the motion and recused herself, finding that a reasonable person would conclude the social relationship could influence her assessment of the witness's credibility.
Motion for further disclosure and particulars in ESG enforcement proceeding dismissed.
In an enforcement proceeding alleging false sales communications regarding ESG factors, the respondent Som Seif brought a motion for further disclosure and particulars.
The Capital Markets Tribunal dismissed the motion for disclosure, finding the requested correspondence with other fund managers and internal Commission documents irrelevant to the allegations.
The Tribunal also declined to order the Commission to produce a privilege log.
The motion for particulars was dismissed after the Commission undertook to clarify which specific statements Seif allegedly reviewed, edited, or provided quotes for, with the Tribunal finding the remaining allegations sufficiently particularized.
