Retail Insolvencies in Canada Series, #4: Lender Perspectives

By Linc Rogers and Aryo Shalviri

This is the fourth and final instalment in a series examining large retail insolvencies in Canada from the perspective of various stakeholders. This article discusses retail insolvencies from the perspective of lenders to distressed Canadian retailers.

This article trails the successful emergence of Toys "R" Us Canada from Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (CCAA) protection following the acquisition of its shares by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

In this tumultuous retail climate, a string of recent conflicting court decisions remind retailers that the potential impact of a licensor bankruptcy on a trademark licensee’s rights may vary dramatically depending on the location of the licensor’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Although the legal community eagerly awaits the California Supreme Court’s decision on advance waivers in Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton v. J-M Mfg. (Cal. No. S232946), a recent decision in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in the case of In re: Relativity Media, LLC, has addressed similar issues and provides some guidance.

Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, with hopes that a strong holiday season would facilitate a successful reorganization.

Justice R. Graesser of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court) recently released his decision in Royal Bank of Canada v.Reid-Built Homes Ltd. (Decision), where he held that the Court has the discretion, but not the obligation, to grant a super priority for receivers’ fees and disbursements ahead of the claims of secured creditors.

This is the third instalment in a series examining large retail insolvencies in Canada from the perspective of various stakeholders. This article discusses insolvencies from the perspective of corporate parents of distressed Canadian retailers.

Jurisprudence canadienne récente en matière d’insolvabilité : ce que les prêteurs doivent savoir Linc Rogers, Caitlin McIntyre et Ilia Kravtsov L’issue d’un certain nombre de dossiers d’insolvabilité portés devant les tribunaux de diverses provinces du Canada en 2017 pourrait avoir une incidence importante sur les droits de réalisation et de recouvrement des prêteurs commerciaux dans le cadre de procédures de restructuration et d’insolvabilité.

Alberta Energy has increasingly been targeting insolvent lessees and the historical gas cost allowances claimed by those insolvent companies.

Alberta Energy deducts allowances for capital and operating costs and custom processing fees incurred and paid in Alberta for compressing, gathering and processing its royalty share of gas and gas products through the Crown share of allowable costs. Accordingly, there are three allowances available from the Crown: capital cost, operating cost and custom processing fee allowance.

Srie sur l'insolvabilit des dtaillants au Canada : Le point de vue des fournisseurs

Linc Rogers et Aryo Shalviri

In 2017, a number of insolvency cases were litigated, in various provinces across Canada, which may materially affect the realization and recovery rights of commercial lenders in restructuring and insolvency proceedings. This article summarizes the core issue of importance to lenders in each of these cases and provides an update on their appeal status.

November 2, 2017 September 11, 2017

INTEGRITY OF COURT-ORDERED SALE PROCESS

Squestre de Gestion EGR inc. et Lemieux Nolet inc., syndics de faillite et gestionnaires