This article has been contributed to the blog by Joshua Hurwitz, an Associate of the Insolvency & Restructuring group at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and Jaime Auron, an Articling Student at Osle
Factoring is a common way for businesses to monetize current assets. Typically, in a factoring transaction, an enterprise sells its accounts receivable to a third party (commonly a bank, but not always), which, in exchange for a discount on the value of the receivables, takes on the effort and time commitment related to collecting the accounts.
The recent decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the “Court”) in 306440 Ontario Ltd. v. 782127 Ontario Ltd.1 serves as a cautionary reminder to secured creditors that their position may not always be at the top of the insolvency food chain, even when they have taken all the proper steps to perfect their security interests.
This article has been contributed by Julien Morissette, associate in the Insolvency & Restructuring and Litigation groups of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
A creditor commences an action against a debtor and obtains a judgment after a trial. The debtor then appeals and loses. The creditor does its due diligence and tracks down land that the debtor owns. The creditor files a writ of seizure and sale and commences proceedings whereby the land is to be sold to pay the judgment debt. By this time, the judgment debt, including interest, is $200,000 and the costs that the creditor has incurred have ballooned to $110,000. Not to worry, the equity in the land is $320,000 and payday is coming.
In a trust claim, it has become commonplace to seek a request for a declaration that, if there is judgment for breach of trust, the judgment will survive the subsequent bankruptcy of the judgment debtor. Will that request for relief ever be granted? This question was answered, in part, in B2B Bank v. Batson, a 2014 Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision.
Background
36039 Dhillon v. Jaffer (Law of professions – Barristers and solicitors – Breach of fiduciary duty – Damages)
One of the primary reasons why people declare bankruptcy is that upon being discharged, the bankrupt person is released from their obligation to repay most of the debts that had existed at the time they went bankrupt. I say most because there are certain exceptions to this rule, debts that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Actitemizes as debts not released by an order of discharge.
In Gaumond v. The Queen, 2014 TCC 339, a shareholder forgave his loan to a company as part of the company’s proposal in bankruptcy, which proposal allowed the company to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its R&D activities. The shareholder claimed a business investment loss (BIL) on the forgiven loan under s.
Applicants who seek ex parte relief under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) have an obligation to make full and fair disclosure of all material facts to the court.