Good afternoon,

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

As previously reported, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) had made some permanent and temporary changes to the insolvency regime.

Here we focus on the impact of CIGA on construction contracts and, in particular, how the new provisions impact on construction contracts and the Construction Act.

What is CICA?

Good afternoon.

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the weeks of September 7 to 11 and September 14 to 18, 2020.

The past two weeks saw ten substantive decisions released by the Court of Appeal. Topics covered included bankruptcy & insolvency, contracts (freight), enforcement of letters of request by foreign courts, family law and insurance, as well as the usual procedural decisions relating to extensions of time and appellate jurisdiction.

Wishing everyone an enjoyable weekend.

Good afternoon.

Following are our summaries of last week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Not surprisingly, it was a light week.

After the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (CIGB) was published on 20 May 2020, it raced through the House of Commons and House of Lords and, on 26 June 2020 (in under 6 weeks) came into force as the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA), with certain of the temporary measures taking effect from 1 March 2020.

How was the CIGB received?

How do you safeguard your interests if you find yourself dealing with a company that enters an insolvency process or is at risk of insolvency, whether as a contract counterparty or in a dispute? Conversely, if you find prospective contract counterparties raising concerns about your company's solvency, what protections might you be able to offer your counterparty in order to continue the relationship?

Facts

Snowden J heard two applications for injunctions to restrain the presentation of two winding-up petitions, against Saint Benedict's Land Trust Limited (SBLT) and Shorts Gardens LLP (SG), respectively. The respondent creditors were Camden and Preston councils in relation to unpaid liability orders in respect of NNDR (National Non Domestic Rates) and other unpaid costs orders.

The much anticipated Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) was published on 20 May 2020.

The proposed legislation is split into two broad categories: temporary provisions brought about as a result of COVID-19 and permanent provisions which will result in fundamental changes to UK insolvency law. The proposals, both temporary and permanent, reflect a shift towards a more debtor-friendly regime.

Good afternoon.

Please find below our summaries of this past week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Topics covered included insurance broker negligence, zoning (use) bylaw enforcement, the wrongful termination of a commercial lease and the automatic right of appeal of bankruptcy orders.

Good afternoon.

Following are this week’s summaries of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

In Thistle v Schumilias, an insurer refused to pay out on a life insurance policy on the basis that the insured had failed to disclose a pre-existing medical condition. The respondent commenced an action against the insurance company and during that litigation became aware of the potential professional negligence of the insurance agent who sold the policy.