Nicholas Avis

The defendants moved to strike the plaintiffs' fresh-as-amended statement of claim, which primarily asserted an unwritten partnership between the parties in connection with two Toronto-area real estate development projects.

The court found the alleged partnership was unsupported by the pleaded facts, noting the parties had created multiple corporate and limited partnership entities with express no-partnership and entire agreement clauses.

All causes of action — breach of fiduciary duty, duty of good faith, tortious interference with economic relations, breach of contract, and oppression — were struck as disclosing no reasonable cause of action.

Leave to amend was denied, and the respondents' cross-motions to convert the parallel application to an action and consolidate the proceedings were also dismissed.

The defendants moved to strike the plaintiffs' amended statement of claim on the ground that it discloses no reasonable cause of action.

The court found that the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead the existence of a partnership relationship between the individual plaintiff and the defendants, failed to plead the material facts necessary to establish breach of contract claims with the required clarity and precision, and failed to plead the essential elements of various tort claims including tortious interference with economic interests, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of good faith, unjust enrichment, conspiracy, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation.

The court granted the motion to strike and struck out the amended statement of claim, but granted leave to amend within 45 days.

The applicant, acting as Foreign Representative for the Chapter 11 Debtors, brought an unopposed motion under the CCAA to recognize several orders of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, including the Confirmation Order approving the Chapter 11 Plan.

The court found that the Plan was overwhelmingly supported by creditors, treated Canadian and U.S. stakeholders equitably, and was in the best interests of the debtors.

The court granted the recognition orders, approved the corporate steps necessary to implement the Plan, and authorized a mechanism to terminate the CCAA proceedings.

The plaintiffs brought a bankruptcy application against the defendant for an alleged indebtedness of approximately US$32.4 million for unpaid wholesale apparel.

The defendant moved to stay or dismiss the application, arguing there was a bona fide dispute over the debt due to the plaintiffs' alleged breaches of a Master Sourcing Agreement, which contained an exclusive forum clause designating New York courts.

The court found a bona fide dispute existed and that it lacked jurisdiction to resolve the contractual claims due to the forum selection clause.

The bankruptcy application was stayed on terms, including a requirement for the defendant to pay funds into court, pending the resolution of the New York proceeding.

The Applicants, part of the Lydian Group which owns a development-stage gold mine in Armenia, sought an order sanctioning their Plan of Arrangement under the CCAA.

The Plan, supported by the Monitor and the requisite majority of secured creditors, provides for the privatization of the Lydian Group and the release of existing indebtedness to Senior Lenders.

The court found the Plan to be fair and reasonable, noting that while equity claimants would receive no compensation, this reflected the economic reality of the insolvency.

The court also approved third-party releases, an increase to the DIP charge, an extension of the stay period, a sealing order for commercially sensitive information, and the Monitor's activities and fees.

The Applicants in a CCAA proceeding sought a Meeting Order to accept the filing of a Plan of Compromise or Arrangement, approve creditor classification, authorize a meeting for voting on the Plan, set a sanction hearing date, and seal certain affidavits.

The court granted the motion, finding the Plan had sufficient support to summon a creditors' meeting, the proposed single class of secured creditors had a commonality of interest under CCAA s. 22(2), and the sealing of commercially sensitive information in the affidavits was appropriate.

This endorsement addresses a motion by Lydian International Limited and its affiliates to extend a stay period under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Following an initial order granting a 10-day stay, the applicants sought an extension.

The court had previously declined to grant the extension at the initial hearing, interpreting CCAA s. 11.001 to limit initial orders to ordinary course relief and maintain the status quo during the initial 10-day period.

The motion for extension was deferred to allow stakeholders to consider their positions.

With no opposition filed and the Monitor's support, the court found that the applicants were acting in good faith and with due diligence, justifying an extension of the stay period to January 23, 2020, to facilitate discussions with lenders and stakeholders regarding financing and sale options for their gold mine project.

The Applicants, part of a gold exploration and development business, sought an initial order for creditor protection under the CCAA due to liquidity issues caused by blockades at their Amulsar Project in Armenia.

The court granted the initial order, including a 10-day stay of proceedings, the appointment of a monitor, and the approval of Administration and D&O charges, finding them reasonably necessary for continued operations.

However, the court declined to immediately grant a stay extension beyond the initial 10-day period, emphasizing that recent CCAA amendments limit initial relief to what is necessary to avoid immediate liquidation, absent exceptional circumstances.