Sydney Edmonds

The Estate of Jackie Cray brought a motion to dismiss an application by Sofie Vaux-Lacelle, who sought a declaration that she was the deceased's common-law spouse for OMERS pension survivor benefits.

The Estate argued that the internal OMERS Dispute Resolution Process was a more suitable forum.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that while the OMERS process was a valid avenue, the Superior Court application was also appropriate given the factual complexity, credibility issues, significant value of the benefit, and greater flexibility for settlement and witness accommodation in court proceedings.

Thorneloe University sought leave to appeal a CCAA judge's decision that allowed Laurentian University to disclaim federation agreements and approved a debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan amendment.

Thorneloe argued the disclaimer would cause its insolvency, provided minimal financial benefit to Laurentian, and was motivated by anti-competition.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the leave motion, finding the proposed appeal was not prima facie meritorious, not of significance to the practice, and would unduly hinder the progress of the CCAA restructuring.

The court upheld the CCAA judge's balancing of interests under s. 32(4) of the CCAA, emphasizing the high deference owed to supervising judges in CCAA proceedings.

The applicant, Laurentian University, brought a motion within its CCAA proceedings to extend the stay of proceedings, approve an amendment to its DIP facility increasing the available funds by $10 million, and approve settlement agreements with its faculty association, staff union, and Huntington University.

The court found that the applicant had acted in good faith and with due diligence, making significant progress in its restructuring.

Despite opposition from Thorneloe University and the University of Sudbury regarding the DIP amendment, the court approved the requested relief, finding the DIP conditions reasonable and the extension necessary for the applicant's continued operations and restructuring efforts.

Thorneloe University brought a motion under section 32(2) of the CCAA to prohibit Laurentian University from disclaiming their Federation Agreement and Financial Distribution Notice.

Laurentian argued the disclaimer was necessary to achieve financial sustainability and present a viable restructuring plan, saving approximately $7.7 million annually.

Thorneloe argued the disclaimer would cause it significant financial hardship and force it into insolvency.

The court balanced the competing interests, giving significant weight to the Monitor's recommendation, and concluded that upholding the disclaimer was the least undesirable choice to prevent the potential collapse of Laurentian University.

The motion was dismissed.

Thorneloe University brought a motion under section 32(2) of the CCAA seeking an order that its Federation Agreement and Financial Distribution Notice with Laurentian University not be disclaimed or resiliated, and to amend the DIP Amendment Agreement.

The court dismissed the motion, with reasons to follow.