Nadia Campion

The court addressed disputes regarding the interpretation and implementation of Minutes of Settlement in estate litigation between family members and an estate trustee during litigation.

Following earlier endorsements clarifying settlement terms, the judge directed the parties to submit competing draft orders reflecting the intended disposition.

The principal issues concerned the timing of a payment obligation tied to a $500,000 amount from an estate interest and whether provisions addressing the estate trustee’s role should appear in the final order.

Applying a “final offer selection” approach, the court concluded that the draft orders proposed by the estate trustee most accurately reflected the settlement and prior endorsements.

The court therefore signed and entered those orders.

The moving party sought an adjournment of his motion to set aside consent orders previously made in complex estate litigation.

The respondents opposed the adjournment, arguing prejudice and delay in the sale of an estate property.

The court refused to adjourn the portions of the motion relating to the dismissal of claims against former counsel and the removal of the Estate Trustee During Litigation, finding no merit to those claims and emphasizing the need to enforce court orders.

The court granted an adjournment for the remaining issues regarding the consent orders but ordered the moving party to personally pay the ongoing expenses of the estate property and awarded costs of $54,490 to the respondents on a partial indemnity basis.

The parties brought cross-motions regarding the valuation of the applicant's shares in a family holding company.

The applicant sought to have an arbitrator appointed or the issues heard in court, alleging oppression and breach of a unanimous shareholders' agreement regarding a 2008 transaction.

The respondents sought the appointment of a valuator, arguing the valuation date was fixed in 2007.

The court held that a valuator is not qualified to deal with oppression or breach of contract claims, and because a non-party to the shareholders' agreement was involved, arbitration was unavailable.

The court ordered that the oppression and breach of contract claims be dealt with by the court before any valuator is appointed.