In a unanimous decision issued November 8, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the appeal of the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada v Callidus Capital Corp, 2017 FCA 162.
In a unanimous decision issued November 8, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the appeal of the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada v Callidus Capital Corp, 2017 FCA 162.
Recent decisions of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta have put into question the priority of municipal property taxes in insolvency proceedings. Two such decisions are the subject of pending appeals. A third recent decision of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta has confirmed the scope of a special lien for municipal property taxes. This article is the first in a series addressing these issues.
Virginia Hills: Linear Tax Claims
On June 26, 2018, Regional Senior Justice Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted an order approving a plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (“CBCA”), in respect of Concordia International Corp.
On October 20, 2017, in In re MPM Silicones, LLC ("Momentive"), Nos. 15-1682, 15-1771, 15-1824, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, considering the Supreme Court's opinion in Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004), adopted the Sixth Circuit's two-step approach to determining an appropriate cramdown interest rate that, in certain circumstances, results in the application of a market rate of interest. In doing so, the Second Circuit reversed the bankruptcy and district court holdings on the cramdown interest rate issue.
The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently reviewed the law regarding priority of operator’s liens and emphasized the heavy evidentiary burden to be satisfied by a creditor asserting a possessory lien in Cansearch Resources Ltd v Regent Resources Ltd, 2017 ABQB 535.
Cansearch’s Operator’s Lien and the Bank’s Security
On June 22, Sears Canada Inc. ("Sears Canada") and certain affiliates1 (collectively, the "Sears Canada Group") sought and obtained insolvency protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the "Court"), which in turn appointed FTI Consulting Canada Inc. (FTI or the "Monitor") as monitor.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal recently released a landmark decision National Bank of Canada v KNC Holdings Ltd, 2017 SKCA 57 (National Bank) which will significantly affect the priority ranking of certain Saskatchewan builders' lien claims in insolvency proceedings. In a unanimous decision, the Court overruled a long line of authorities which had held that builders' liens arising in connection with the recovery of minerals could defeat prior-registered security interests.
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released a decision allowing a certification application by a union to proceed in the face of a receivership of the employer. The decision garnered a strong dissent from Justice Lauwers, suggesting that the decision of the majority would "effect a sea change in insolvency law."
For many litigants, the decision whether to prosecute or defend a lawsuit vigorously boils down to a rather basic calculus: What are my chances of success? What is the potential recovery or loss? Is this a "bet the company" litigation? And, how much will I have to pay the lawyers? In many respects, it is not all that different from a poker player eyeing his chip stack and deciding whether the pot odds and implied odds warrant the call of a big bet.