Matthew H. Britton

The Ontario Securities Commission brought a motion for security for costs of an appeal filed by the appellants.

The appellants had previously been found to have perpetrated a fraud on investors and were ordered to pay investigation and hearing costs, which remained unpaid.

The court found good reason to believe the appeal was frivolous and vexatious, as the appellants had declined to participate in the merits hearing.

Furthermore, the court found the appellants no longer had assets in Ontario.

The motion was granted, and the appellants were ordered to post $20,000 as security for costs.

Following the dismissal of the appellants' motion to adduce fresh evidence and their appeal, the respondent sought partial indemnity costs.

Although the respondent's partial indemnity costs amounted to $12,875, it sought a reduced award of $4,000 to avoid inhibiting self-represented parties from pursuing appeal rights.

The court found the issues were not complex and the requested amount was modest, fixing costs at $4,000 inclusive of disbursements and GST.

The appellants appealed an Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) order finding they violated securities law by operating an RRSP/loan scheme without registration or a prospectus.

The appellants argued the OSC erred in refusing an adjournment, sought to introduce fresh evidence, and challenged the OSC's findings.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the refusal of the adjournment was justified, the fresh evidence did not meet the test for admission, and the OSC's findings of unregistered trading and public interest violations were reasonable.