As we enter 2025, we look back on five important decisions that made the news in 2024. Here is the the first case.
On October 11, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released two decisions
Continue Reading 2024 Notable Cases (Part 1) – Supreme Court clarifies Corporate Attribution Doctrine
Can a lender challenge debtors’ transactions with a parent company as fraudulent conveyances when the debtors had disclosed the transactions before the loan was advanced? In NYDIG ABL LLC v IE CA 3 Holdings Ltd
Continue Reading British Columbia’s Court of Appeal overturns ruling on invalidity of inter-company transfers from financially distressed Bitcoin mining companiesThe general rule in bankruptcy is that a debtor receives a “fresh start” and is discharged from prior debts, but this is subject to certain exceptions. Subsection 178(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) sets out eight
Continue Reading Supreme Court Clarifies Exceptions to Fresh Start Principle in Canadian Bankruptcies
In a decision released in 2023, Justice Vermette of the Ontario Superior Court rejected an application to set aside an arbitration award on procedural fairness and jurisdictional grounds. This decision clarified when Ontario’s International Commercial
Continue Reading Ontario Superior Court Rejects Application to Set Aside an Arbitration Award under the Model Law
In a widely publicized move, on December 18, 2019, SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc. pleaded guilty to fraud over five thousand dollars. The guilty plea was the result of protracted settlement discussions between SNC-Lavalin and the Crown.
As part of SNC-Lavalin’s plea deal, all charges against SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and its international marketing arm, SNC-Lavalin International Inc. were withdrawn. SNC-Lavalin Construction will pay a fine of $280 million, payable in instalments over the next five years. The deal also includes a recently released probation order that requires SNC-Lavalin Construction to cause SNC-Lavalin Group to strengthen its compliance program, record keeping, and internal control standards.
Continue Reading SNC-Lavalin Probation Order Issued in Connection with Guilty Plea
In Turbo Logistics Canada Inc. v. HSBC Bank Canada, Baker & McKenzie’s litigation team was successful in upholding at the Ontario Court of Appeal, the trial decision awarding HSBC judgments in fraud for over $10.3 million dollars. At trial, Madam Justice Ruth Mesbur accepted the argument that “but for” the false statements made by the appellants, HSBC would never have made the loan and therefore the bank deserved damages equal to 100% of its loss on the loan. On appeal, the appellants argued that their rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated during the trial and that the trial should never have proceeded because an adjournment should have been granted.
Continue Reading Court of Appeal upholds trial decision awarding HSBC judgments in fraud for over $10.3 million
Under section 380.1(1) and (1.1) of the Criminal Code, courts are required to consider the following non-exhaustive list of factors as being aggravating circumstances in the context of fraud:
On May 30, 2014, Mr. Justice Richard Danyliuk of the Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench sentenced Ronald Fast to seven years in prison for fraud and ordered him to pay restitution of $16.7 million. Fast’s daughter, Danielle Fast-Carlson, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution arising out of the same circumstances.
Continue Reading Conviction in investment fraud case leads to jail time for father and daughter
In October 2011, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC“) raised the concept of offering no-contest settlements of the sort commonly employed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“). On March 11th of this year, after receiving some sharply divided feedback in months of public hearings, the OSC announced that it was moving forward with the introduction of a policy that would permit settlement of enforcement proceedings without requiring an admission by the respondent of misconduct (no-contest settlements). The OSC has emphasized that the deployment of this policy will only be available in a narrow set of circumstances. In the meantime, the debate over whether such a policy can achieve its objectives of expedience and efficient resource allocation while at the same time avoiding the risk of letting wrongdoers off the hook, has yet to be resolved.
Continue Reading The OSC’s introduction of no-contest settlement proceedings
As reported by the Globe and Mail, CBC and other sources, the RCMP has charged two people after at least 160 investors were allegedly defrauded of more than $21-million. The RCMP has reported
Continue Reading RCMP charge two in yet another alleged investment fraud