CITATION: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Verbrugghe, 2007 ONCA 98

DATE: 20070215

DOCKET: C45630

COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

RE:

CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE (Plaintiff/Respondent) – and – ETIENNE VERBRUGGHE and CHERYL VERBRUGGHE (Defendants/Appellants)

AND RE:

ETIENNE VERBRUGGHE and CHERYL VERBRUGGHE (Plaintiffs by counterclaim) – and CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE, HERMAN LANSINK and BARBARA FARMS INC. (Defendants by counterclaim)

BEFORE:

BORINS, MACPHERSON and JURIANSZ JJ.A.

COUNSEL:

Donald R. Good

for the appellant

Neil S. Abbot and Brent Arnold

for the respondent

HEARD & ENDORSED:

February 13, 2007

On appeal from the judgment of Justice Sidney N. Lederman of the Superior Court of Justice dated June 5, 2006.

A P P E A L B O O K E N D O R S E M E N T

[1] In our opinion the motion judge was correct in holding that the respondent, as the holder of the appellants’ guarantee, was not a “secured creditor” within the meaning of s. 2 of the Farm Debt Mediation Act, S.C. 1997, c. 21 and that the respondent was, therefore, not required to give the appellants notice under s. 21(1) of the Act before commencing its action on the guarantee against them. The appeal is dismissed with costs fixed at $5,000, inclusive of disbursements and GST.