The Cetero Group brought a motion seeking entitlement to a $298,243 tax refund (carry-back refund) held by PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PWC), as receiver of PRACS Institute Canada B.C. Ltd. The Cetero Group argued the refund was not validly assigned to PRACS, that PWC would be unjustly enriched, and that they were entitled to the refund through legal or equitable set-off due to PRACS's failure to pay under an operation support agreement.
The court found the carry-back refund was validly assigned to PRACS under an asset purchase agreement, providing a juristic reason for PWC's retention, thus defeating the unjust enrichment claim.
Furthermore, the court determined that neither legal nor equitable set-off applied, as the refund was not a debt owing by BA to PRACS, and the cross-claim for unpaid invoices was not sufficiently connected to the refund to warrant equitable set-off.
The motion was dismissed.
