Mahgol Taghivand

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal by Gurnam Multani and Surjit Multani from the orders of Justice William S. Chalmers.

The appellants had signed forbearance agreements acknowledging the amounts owing under several loans from Dramel Limited.

The court found no error in the motion judge’s reliance on the forbearance agreements to confirm the amounts outstanding and held that the fees charged did not contravene the Interest Act.

The appeal was dismissed and costs were awarded to the respondent.

The moving party, Dramel Limited (respondent in the appeal), brought a motion for security for costs against the appellants, Gurnam Multani and Surjit Multani, in an appeal concerning over $25 million in mortgage debts.

The court granted the motion, finding that the appeal was frivolous and vexatious under Rule 61.06(1)(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, given the appellants' concession of unpaid loans, acknowledged amounts in forbearance agreements, and findings of deliberate attempts to mislead the court.

The court also determined that the appellants had insufficient assets to cover appeal costs and noted a history of procedural delay and unwillingness to pay.

Security for costs was ordered for both the appeal and a prior costs order.