Introduction

A few weeks ago, real estate practitioners, investors, speculators, lenders and aspiring homeowners were all surprised to learn that The One, a monster development at 1 Bloor St. West in Toronto, was being placed into receivership. The project undertaken by Sam Mizrahi and his company, Mizrahi Inc., is slated to be an 85-storey mixed-use residential tower in the heart of the city, comprising retail stores, a restaurant, a hotel and luxury residential suites. It would be an iconic addition to Toronto’s growing skyline…

In January 2020, we analyzed a split among the Circuit Courts regarding whether a non-debtor holding a debtor’s property on the petition date has an affirmative obligation under section 362(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code to return that property to the debtor immediately following the filing of the bankruptcy petition.