In an earlier edition of Fully Secured (June 27, 2012 – Volume 3, Number 2), we reported on the Ontario Court of Justice decision in Snoek 7 where security granted by a borrower (“HSLP”) to a group of individual creditors (“B”) was held to constitute an improper preference and declared invalid following a challenge by the trustee in bankruptcy. B had been one victim of a Ponzi scheme involving numerous unsecured creditors of HSLP.
On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a controversial decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal which granted pension beneficiaries priority over DIP lenders in the context of a restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”).1 The Court of Appeal’s decision led many to worry that lenders would be reticent to advance funds to restructuring debtors for fear of not being able to secure charges which would outrank all other claims.
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
On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its much-awaited decision in theIndalex case.1 While the central issue in Indalex was the priority of wind-up deficiencies in defined benefit pension plans versus court-ordered debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing charges under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (CCAA), the SCC also considered whether claims for wind-up deficiencies are covered by deemed trusts under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (PBA).
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision inSun Indalex Finance, LLC v United Steelworkers, 2013 SCC 6, has a number of implications for employers, pension plan administrators, as well as both secured and unsecured creditors.
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.
“When a business becomes insolvent, many interests are at risk. Creditors may not be able to recover their debts, investors may lose their investments and employees may lose their jobs. If the business is the sponsor of an employee pension plan, the benefits promised by the plan are not immune from that risk. The circumstances leading to these appeals show how that risk can materialize. Pension plans and creditors find themselves in a zero-sum game with not enough money to go around.
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the case of Re Indalex Ltd. [2013] SCC 6 (the “Decision”) does not, as one national newspaper put it place “creditors before pensioners”. The Decision which overturned the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Re Indalex Ltd. [2011] O.J. No.
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the landmark pension/insolvency case, Sun Indalex, LLC v. United Steelworkers.
Introduction
The Supreme Court has issued its much-anticipated decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers.