Matt Moloci

The applicant sought to appoint a receiver over the respondents and approve a stalking horse sale process for their jointly owned properties.

A third party, NASG, opposed the vesting orders, claiming a constructive trust over the properties due to alleged scrap metal theft.

The court found NASG's contingent claim did not prevent a vesting order, as monetary damages would be adequate and the receiver would hold net sale proceeds.

However, the court refused to approve the stalking horse agreement because the proposed $500,000 break fee and $150,000 overbid fee were excessive and unjustified.

The court appointed the receiver but required the applicant to revise the sale process.

This endorsement addresses the costs of a motion where the applicants sought an advance payment for shares in a family business.

The applicants were largely successful in obtaining a substantial advance payment, significantly more than the respondents' offers to settle.

Despite some divided success on ancillary requests, the court found the applicants to have achieved substantial success on the primary issue.

The court fixed costs on a partial indemnity basis, awarding the applicants $60,000 for fees and $5,948.49 for disbursements, payable within 30 days, declining to defer the costs decision to the trial judge.