The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in msi Spergel Inc. v. I.F. Propco Holdings (Ontario) 36 Ltd., 2013 ONCA 550 (“msi Spergel”) confirms that the Court will not suspend, extend or otherwise vary the general two-year limitation period under the Limitations Act, 2002 (the “Limitations Act”) unless there is express statutory authority to do so.
During the spring of 2012, the Canadian Appeals Monitor posted a five-part series on the Supreme Court’s judgments in Van Breda, Black, and
Following a recent ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal, parties may need to proceed cautiously in enforcing contractual rights and remedies in circumstances where there is a risk of the counterparty subsequently becoming insolvent.
The common law has long recognized that a contractual provision which is explicitly and directly triggered by a party’s insolvency (and which thereby causes subsequent prejudice to the rights of the insolvent party’s creditors) may be unenforceable as a matter of public policy.
Introduction
The Supreme Court has issued its much-anticipated decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers.
The Supreme Court issued one judgment this week in a case of interest to Canadian businesses and professions.
R. v. Dunn, Beatty and Gollogly 2013 ONSC 137
Introduction
US lenders in cross-border M&A transactions often ask how real estate security differs in Canada. The short answer is not much; the security and legal requirements are pretty much the same (though perhaps not as heavily negotiated and labyrinthine as US-style documentation).
On August 2, 2012, in the case ofIn re MBS Management Services, Inc.,1 the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a retail electricity agreement with a real estate management company constituted a forward contract protected by the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Code”).
You are probably aware of the useful restructuring and creditor protection process available to insolvent entities in the United States under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In Canada, more than one insolvency regime is available in respect of debtor companies in financial difficulty and those interested in acquiring such companies or their assets. However, because of its flexibility, the most commonly used Canadian regime for larger debtor companies or complicated restructurings is the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (the "CCAA").
In a decision further defining when US public policy restricts the relief a court may grant in aid of a foreign restructuring or insolvency proceeding, the Bankruptcy Court in the Chapter 15 case of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. v. ACP Master, Ltd. (In re Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V.), Ch. 15 Case No. 11-33335-HDH-15, 2012 WL 2138112 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Jun. 13, 2012) refused to a enforce a Mexican restructuring plan that novated and extinguished the guaranty obligations of the Mexican debtor’s non-debtor subsidiary guarantors.