Melissa MacKewn

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) brought a motion seeking an order for the issuance of Letters of Request in Commissions under section 152 of the Securities Act.

The OSC required evidence from two individuals, one residing in British Columbia and one in Massachusetts, USA, for a proceeding before the Capital Markets Tribunal concerning Bridging Finance Inc. and its respondents.

The respondents did not oppose the motion.

The court granted the order, finding that the proposed witnesses had relevant evidence and that the Letters of Request and Commissions accorded with Rule 34.07(2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Torstar Corporation sought court approval for a plan of arrangement to sell all its shares to NordStar Capital LP for $0.74 per share.

The arrangement was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders.

Competing bidder CMMH and dissenting shareholder Patrick Collins objected, alleging inadequate disclosure and a flawed bidding process due to hard lock-up agreements.

The court found the arrangement had a valid business purpose, the process was conducted in good faith with professional advice, and the objections were resolved fairly.

The court emphasized the weight given to the shareholder vote and the Board's business judgment, particularly in uncertain times, and approved the arrangement.

This decision addresses the costs of a previously dismissed motion brought by Kunicyn.

Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. (IAS) and Lise Douville, as successful respondents to the motion, sought substantial indemnity costs due to Kunicyn's unproven serious allegations of conspiracy and fraud against them and their counsel.

The court found that such allegations warranted increased costs and awarded substantial indemnity costs, adjusted for proportionality.

IAS was awarded $35,000 and Douville $25,000, to be paid by Kunicyn.

The law firm Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP (CMB) brought a motion seeking an order to be appointed as representative counsel for approximately 3,000 investors in the receivership of Crystal Wealth Management Systems Inc. The court-appointed Receiver, Grant Thornton Limited, and the Ontario Securities Commission opposed the motion, arguing that it would be duplicative of the Receiver's role and would result in unnecessary professional fees.

The court dismissed CMB's motion, finding that the Receiver was already adequately protecting and advancing the investors' interests, and that appointing representative counsel would add unnecessary expense without good reason.

The appellant appealed from a trial judgment awarding the respondent US$192,000 in compensatory damages plus pre-judgment interest, $25,000 in punitive damages, and $85,000 in costs in a civil fraud case.

The trial judge found that the appellant fraudulently obtained US$200,000 from the respondent, a vulnerable widow, by misrepresenting that the funds would not be traded and then investing them in call options through his personal accounts, resulting in total loss.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge's reasons were sufficient, the credibility findings were supported by the record, and the punitive damages award was appropriate given the appellant's highly reprehensible conduct.