Decisions

Keep up to date on the latest Commercial List decisions.

The decisions below represent all Commercial List matters published on CanLII in the last year. This list will be updated every week. 
Decisions
  • In Re Synaptive Medical Inc.
    keywords: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Debtor company — Jurisdiction — Applicant sought an Initial Order under the CCAA, including a stay of proceedings, DIP financing, and court-appointed Monitor — Does the applicant qualify as a “debtor company” under the CCAA, and does the court have jurisdiction to grant the requested relief? — CCAA, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, s. 9(1) | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Stay of proceedings — Liquidity crisis — Insolvency — Applicant sought a stay of proceedings to prevent creditors from enforcing rights and to stabilize operations — Should the court grant a stay of proceedings to provide the applicant with the necessary breathing space to restructure? — CCAA, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, s. 11.02(1) | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Interim financing — DIP Financing Facility — DIP Lender’s Charge — Applicant sought approval of a $1 million DIP Financing Facility and associated charge — Should the court approve the proposed DIP Financing Facility and the associated DIP Lender’s Charge? — CCAA, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, s. 11.2(4) | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Charges — Administration Charge — Directors’ Charge — Applicant sought approval of Administration and Directors’ Charges to secure professional fees and indemnify directors — Should the court approve the Administration Charge and Directors’ Charge as proposed by the applicant? — CCAA, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, ss. 11.51, 11.52 | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Monitor — Appointment of Monitor — Applicant proposed Richter Inc. as Monitor to oversee restructuring — Should the court appoint Richter Inc. as the Monitor in the CCAA proceedings? — CCAA, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, s. 11.7

    CanLII | Mar 26, 2025

  • Hudson’s Bay Company
    keywords: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Stay of proceedings — Restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Applicants sought an extension of the stay of proceedings to continue good faith discussions with creditors and stakeholders — Should the stay of proceedings be extended? — Court satisfied that Applicants acted in good faith and had sufficient liquidity — Stay extended pursuant to sections 11.02(2) and (3) of the CCAA | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Directors’ Charge — Quantum increase — Applicants sought to increase the Directors’ Charge to $49,200,000 to reflect obligations related to HST remittances, payroll deductions, and employee liabilities — Should the quantum of the Directors’ Charge be increased? — Court approved increase as reasonable and supported by the Monitor — Sections 11.51 and 11.52 of the CCAA applied | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Priority of charges — Administration Charge, Directors’ Charge, and DIP Charge — Applicants proposed amendments to the relative priorities of charges under the Initial Order — Should the proposed amendments to charge priorities be approved? — Court approved amendments as appropriate and consistent with the DIP Term Sheet — Priority waterfall established for different categories of collateral | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Financial advisor engagement — Reflect Advisors, LLC — Applicants sought approval to engage Reflect Advisors, LLC as financial advisor and include it under the Administration Charge — Should the engagement of Reflect Advisors, LLC be approved? — Court approved engagement based on expertise and necessity for restructuring efforts — No increase to Administration Charge quantum — Section 11 of the CCAA applied

    CanLII | Mar 24, 2025

  • Middleton v. Direct Broadcast Satellite Communications Corp.
    keywords: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Sale of business assets — Appointment of Sales Officer — Deadlock among shareholders — Approval of Sale Process Order — Principles from Royal Bank of Canada v. Soundair Corp. — Whether the proposed Sale Process is fair, transparent, and commercially efficacious — Court’s discretion to approve sale processes in insolvency contexts | Sale — Sale Process Order — Ancillary relief — Approval of Sale Process for insurance policies and related assets — Non-solicitation order to protect purchaser’s investment — Whether restrictions on solicitation are reasonable and necessary — Framework for maximizing asset value in court-supervised sales | Business associations — Corporate governance — Deadlock among shareholders — Oppression remedy applications — Appointment of Sales Officer — Whether enhanced powers as receiver and manager are necessary — Court’s discretion to expand the mandate of court-appointed officers | Civil procedure — Preservation of assets — Transfer of funds and commissions to Sales Officer — Compliance with prior court orders — Whether additional orders are necessary to ensure timely and efficient administration of assets — Rule 63.01 and automatic stays in appeals | Insurance — Interim Broker — Appointment of Kingsmere Financial Services Inc. — Allegations of conflict of interest — Whether appointment undermines integrity of Sale Process — Court’s assessment of impartiality and fairness in court-supervised sales

    CanLII | Mar 21, 2025

  • Tripodi v. Susglobal Energy Corp.
    keywords: Business associations — Shareholder disputes — Corporate governance — Allegations of misrepresentation and oppression — Plaintiff alleged negligent misrepresentation and oppressive conduct by corporate officers — Defendants denied claims and counterclaimed for abuse of process — Were the defendants' actions oppressive or unfairly prejudicial to the plaintiff's shareholder interests? — Framework for assessing oppression claims under BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders. | Obligations — Negligent misrepresentation — Share purchases — Plaintiff alleged reliance on misrepresentations regarding share value and uplisting to NASDAQ — Defendants argued public disclosures negated any misrepresentation — Was there a special relationship and reasonable reliance on the alleged misrepresentations? — Test for negligent misrepresentation from Queen v. Cognos Inc. applied. | Obligations — Reasonable reliance — Shareholder sophistication — Plaintiff was an accredited investor with legal and investment experience — Defendants argued reliance on alleged misrepresentations was unreasonable given public disclosures and disclaimers — Was the plaintiff's reliance on the alleged misrepresentations reasonable? — Reasonableness of reliance assessed under McKenna v. Gammon Gold Inc. | Securities — Oppression remedy — Executive compensation — Plaintiff alleged excessive compensation and related-party transactions unfairly disregarded shareholder interests — Defendants argued compensation was disclosed and approved by the board — Did the defendants' conduct violate the plaintiff's reasonable expectations as a shareholder? — Oppression remedy framework from BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders applied. | Civil procedure — Abuse of process — Counterclaim for reputational harm — Defendants alleged plaintiff's action was initiated for improper collateral purposes, including reputational damage — Plaintiff denied improper motives — Was the plaintiff's action an abuse of process? — Test for abuse of process from Harris v. Glaxosmithkline Inc. applied.

    CanLII | Mar 20, 2025

  • Royal Bank of Canada v. Chesswood Group Ltd. et al.
    keywords: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Reverse vesting order — Sale of shares — Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Approval of transaction — Monitor’s role — Harte Gold factors — Soundair principles — Whether reverse vesting structure is necessary — Economic result compared to alternatives — Stakeholder impact — Preservation of licences and permits — Governing rule under section 11 and section 36 of the CCAA | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Releases — Scope of releases — Lydian test — Appropriateness of releases in favour of parties involved in the transaction — Whether releases are necessary and contribute to the restructuring — Governing rule under CCAA jurisprudence | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Stay of proceedings — Extension of stay — Facilitation of transaction completion — Good faith and due diligence — Cash flow projections — Prejudice to creditors — Governing rule under section 11.02(2) of the CCAA | Civil procedure — Sealing order — Commercially sensitive information — Monitor’s report — Public interest in maximizing recovery — Integrity of sales process — Test under Sierra Club and Sherman Estate — Whether salutary effects outweigh deleterious effects

    CanLII | Mar 18, 2025

  • Nuance Pharma Ltd. v. Antibe Therapetics Inc.
    keywords: Commercial law — Corporations — Arrangements and compromises — Lifting stay

    CanLII | Mar 18, 2025

  • Pride Group Holdings Inc. et al.
    keywords: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Jurisdiction — Deferred Payments mechanism — Liquidity deficit — Pride Entities sought approval to apply Deferred Payments to fund working capital needs — Does the Court have jurisdiction under section 11 of the CCAA to approve the Deferred Payments mechanism? — Section 11 discretion exercised to further remedial objectives of the CCAA, balancing creditor claims and operational needs | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Interim distribution — DIP Lenders’ Charge — Priority of DIP Lenders’ Charge over pre-filing security interests — Should the Court approve the interim distribution of non-Vehicle PGL Net Proceeds to the DIP Lenders? — ARIO and DIP Term Sheet provisions upheld, requiring proceeds to be applied to DIP Obligations | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Purchase price adjustments — PGL Direct Costs — Holdback amounts — Monitor’s recommendations — Should the Court approve the purchase price adjustments, PGL Direct Costs, and holdback amounts? — Monitor’s recommendations approved as appropriate, unopposed, and necessary for the wind-down process | Bankruptcy and insolvency — Monitor’s activities — Approval of Reports — Stakeholder objections — Should the Court approve the activities of the Monitor as described in the 4th through 20th Reports? — Activities approved to advance proceedings, with no prejudice to future cost allocation or professional fee approvals

    CanLII | Mar 17, 2025

  • JBT Transport Inc.(Re)
    keywords: Debtor and creditor — Receivers — S. 3(1), Courts of Justice Act — R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 101 — Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act — R.S.C., 1985, c. C-36 — Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act — R.S.C., 1985, c. B-3, ss. 243(1), 245(1)

    CanLII | Mar 13, 2025

  • In Re Hudson’s Bay Company
    keywords: Stay of proceedings — Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act — R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36 — Canada Business Corporations Act

    CanLII | Mar 12, 2025

  • Sherritt International Corporation and 16743714 Canada Inc., et al.
    keywords: Commercial law — Corporations — Arrangements and compromises

    CanLII | Mar 11, 2025

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