Michael Lonergan Byers

The appellant entered into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale with a court-appointed receiver to purchase real estate.

The receiver brought a motion for approval and vesting.

However, late-breaking offers emerged, including one 37% higher than the appellant's offer.

The motion judge declined to approve the sale and instead ordered a six-day extension of the bidding process.

The appellant appealed, arguing the motion judge misapplied the principles from Royal Bank of Canada v. Soundair Corp. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the motion judge properly exercised discretion in reopening the auction process given the magnitude of the late offer and the receiver's alternative recommendation.

The plaintiff, CPOS Inc., brought a motion for an injunction to compel the defendant, Brandon Hwon Munn Fong, to return and have confidential information professionally wiped from his electronic devices by a third party.

CPOS abandoned its claim of improper solicitation.

The court ordered Fong to describe and delete the documents himself, rejecting CPOS's request for third-party wiping.

This decision addresses the costs of that motion.

Fong sought substantial indemnity costs, arguing CPOS's motion was heavy-handed and unsuccessful on the key issue.

CPOS argued its conduct was not improper and the relief granted was more robust than Fong's offers.

The court found Fong substantially successful on the main issue of the wiping method.

Considering factors under Rule 57, including success, claims, complexity, and offers to settle, the court ordered CPOS to pay Fong costs on a liberal partial indemnity basis.

The Applicant, a dissenting shareholder, sought costs on a full indemnity basis after successfully obtaining an order fixing the fair value of his shares.

The court had previously ordered the Respondent to pay $63,000 for the shares.

The Applicant argued that the Respondent failed to comply with s. 185(15) of the Ontario Business Corporations Act (OBCA) by offering zero for the shares, which would trigger full indemnity costs under s. 185(21).

The court found that the Respondent's offer of zero, accompanied by an explanation, did comply with s. 185(15) and therefore, the costs consequences of s. 185(21) were not triggered.

The court awarded costs on a partial indemnity scale, fixing them at $99,951.75, after considering the factors in Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the complexity of the case, and the proportionality of the costs claimed relative to the amount at issue.

The plaintiff, a debentureholder, sought to bring a class action for oppression against certain shareholders, directors, and officers of Discovery Air Inc. The defendants argued the plaintiff lacked standing due to a 'no-action clause' in the trust indenture, which they claimed required trustee authority or satisfaction of specific preconditions.

The court found that the trust indenture, when read holistically, did not preclude the plaintiff's direct action.

Alternatively, the court determined that the plaintiff had met the preconditions, including the 25% debentureholder support and a reasonable offer of indemnity, despite the trustee's commercially unreasonable demands.

The plaintiff's motion was granted, allowing the oppression action to proceed.

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 is an appeal from a certification judge's order refusing to certify an investor class action and dismissing the action on the basis that the pleadings did not disclose a reasonable cause of action.

The proposed class action arose from the dramatic collapse of a derivatives-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed by the respondent, Horizons ETFS Management (Canada) Inc., which lost almost 90% of its value overnight.

The appellant, Graham Wright, alleged negligence and misrepresentations in the prospectus under s. 130 of the Securities Act.

The certification judge dismissed both claims.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, finding that the negligence claim did disclose a reasonable cause of action.

For the s. 130 Securities Act claim, the Court found it did not disclose a reasonable cause of action as pleaded but granted leave to amend the statement of claim to assert the purchase of 'Creation Units', remitting the matter to the certification judge for further determination of certification criteria.

Following a judgment in favour of the Applicants enforcing various agreements, the court addressed the issue of costs.

The agreements entitled the successful party to full indemnity costs.

The Applicants submitted their costs, while the Respondents did not.

The court awarded the Applicants full indemnity costs of $26,504.46, finding the amount reasonable, compliant with Rule 57.10(1)(0.b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, and consistent with the contractual terms.

The Applicants sought to enforce a Share Purchase Agreement, General Security Agreement, and Promissory Notes against the Respondents after default on the final payment tranche.

The Respondents claimed various setoffs, including for an old cell phone, an unverified loan balance, alleged business losses due to applicant contact with customers, and a purported breach of a non-competition clause.

The court dismissed all setoff claims as unsubstantiated or legally invalid, finding them either de minimis, specious, or not meeting the requirements for legal or equitable setoff.

The Applicants were granted judgment for the outstanding amount, orders to enforce their security, and full indemnity costs.