Robert Nicholls

The Monitor sought an order authorizing distributions from the sale of Geothermal Assets.

KTNI disputed the Monitor's recommended disallowance of its claim to a portion of the proceeds based on a transfer provision in the Berm Lease.

The court found that the plain language of the lease reserved the transfer value to KTNI and that the provision was not invalidated by the pari passu or anti-deprivation rules.

The Monitor was directed to distribute $2,049,000 to KTNI, but no funds were to be distributed to Doreen Saskin until her claim in the bankruptcy of KTNI's parent company was accepted.

This motion sought a stay pending leave to appeal an order authorizing the sale of a 51% interest in Downsview Homes Inc. (DHI) within ongoing CCAA proceedings.

The moving party, the Foreign Representative of Urbancorp Inc., argued the sale process should be postponed until a related arbitration regarding a disputed payment was resolved, fearing a chilling effect on potential bids.

The supervising judge had previously dismissed these concerns as speculative.

The Court of Appeal applied the three-part RJR-MacDonald test for a stay, finding the grounds for appeal weak, no irreparable harm to the moving party, and the balance of convenience favoring the respondents (the Monitor and Mattamy Homes Limited, the debtor-in-possession lender).

Consequently, the motion for a stay was dismissed.

The court heard competing applications regarding the insolvent Urbancorp Management Inc. (UMI).

The Monitor sought a Bankruptcy Order, while a secured creditor sought the appointment of a receiver.

The court granted the Bankruptcy Order, appointing the Monitor as trustee, finding that the bankruptcy administration would provide a codified route to assess the secured creditor's non-arm's length claim.

The receivership application was stayed pending the trustee's review of the secured claim.

In the context of CCAA proceedings for the Urbancorp entities, the Monitor brought a motion for an order approving and directing distributions from the sale of geothermal assets.

The court approved two unopposed distributions recommended by the Monitor in its Forty-Fifth Report, specifically regarding VII - Curve and UNKI.

The balance of the requested relief was adjourned to a date to be set.

The Receiver and Monitor sought court approval for the sale of geothermal assets and an order compelling the assignment of a long-term lease (the "Berm Lease") to the purchaser.

King Towns North Inc. (KTNI), the landlord under the Berm Lease, opposed the assignment order, arguing that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) does not grant receivers statutory authority to compel assignments and that the assignment was inappropriate given the nominal rent and a lease clause allowing unreasonable withholding of consent.

The court found jurisdiction to grant the assignment order under BIA s. 243(1)(c) in conjunction with s. 100 of the Courts of Justice Act, or alternatively, through its inherent jurisdiction, emphasizing a purposive approach to Canadian insolvency laws.

The court concluded that the assignment was appropriate, as it was critical to the transaction, the assignee's financial obligations were nominal, and KTNI's allocation entitlements could be addressed at a later date.

The sale transaction and a sealing order for confidential information were also approved.