In a recent Bennett Jones Update—Property Tax Priorities in Alberta Insolvency Proceedings: Current Uncertainty—we discussed three recent decisions of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta that had addressed the question of the priority of municipal property taxes in insolvency proceedings.

The Alberta Energy Regulator's Statutory Power is Not in Conflict With the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act

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.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently scrutinized the proper application of the safe harbor found in Section 546(e) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code1 in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting Inc.2 While the Supreme Court's decision narrowed the reach of the safe harbor, it did little to change the landscape for the multi-billion dollar U.S. structured finance industry, including warehouse lending.

On February 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court in a significant ruling held in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc. that transfers of property of a debtor in which financial institutions are mere conduits or intermediaries may be avoidable. The Court ruled that the safe harbor provisions of section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code do not protect such transfers from avoidance.

The Bankruptcy Code prohibits a chapter 13 debtor from modifying a mortgage lien on the debtor's principal residence. Even in situations in which a secured creditor fails to file a proof of claim or otherwise participate in the bankruptcy proceeding, the Bankruptcy Code allows a secured creditor's lien on a primary residence to pass through the bankruptcy unaffected. However, a recent decision from a bankruptcy court in Texas illustrates the risks to secured creditors of blind reliance on these statutory protections.

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