When a shareholder’s rights are breached, there are a variety of legal remedies available under the Ontario Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”). For more information on shareholders’ rights, please click here to see part 1 of this post. Oppression Remedy It is first important to note that as per the Ontario Court of Appeal decision Maurice v. Alles, the standard two-year limitation period set out in the Limitations Act applies to oppression remedy claims. The “clock starts to run” when the oppressive conduct first began, meaning that individuals must not delay if they wish to pursue an oppression remedy. The oppression remedy under s. 248 of the OBCA is broad in nature, and there is a large amount of judicial discretion afforded in its application. The oppression remedy can be an especially strong tool in protecting minority shareholders. When the Court determines that there has been oppressive conduct, unfairly prejudicial conduct, or conduct that disregards the interests of any shareholder it may make an order to resolve the matter in a variety of ways. … Read More
Shareholders’ Rights under the OBCA: An Overview (Part 1/2)
Under the Ontario Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”), shareholders of a corporation have a variety of rights. Outlined below are a few rights that all shareholders should be aware they possess. Please click here to see part 2 of this post on shareholders’ remedies. Voting Rights The board of directors, under s. 115 are ultimately responsible for managing or supervising the management of the business and affairs of a corporation. Major business decisions also involve the participation of the board of directors, though sales, leases, or exchanges of all or substantially all the property of the corporation that is not in the ordinary course of business requires the approval of shareholders (s. 184(3)). Shareholders also have voting rights that allow them to control the makeup of the board of directors (s. 119(4)), and also the ability to remove directors under s. 122(1) (though this is subject to exceptions under s. 120(f)). Shareholders have additional voting rights under … Read More
The Supreme Court of Canada On Defence Against the Tort of Conversion (Teva Canada Ltd. v. TD Canada Trust)
In Teva Canada Ltd. v. TD Canada Trust, Teva Canada Ltd. (“Teva”), a pharmaceutical company, “was the victim of a fraudulent cheque scheme implemented by one of its employees”, (para 1). Teva claimed the collecting banks were liable for the tort of conversion. Teva Canada Ltd. v. TD Canada Trust provides insight into the Bills of Exchange Act‘s (“BEA”) section 20(5) defence to the tort of conversion, by clarifying the approach used to determining whether a payee is “fictitious or non-existing”. In the event that a payee is deemed fictitious or non-existing within the meaning of section 20(5) of the BEA, the bill may be treated as payable to the bearer, and thus can be negotiated by simple “delivery” to the bank meaning endorsement is not required, and the defence will succeed (para 5). Justice Abella, writing for the majority, outlined the two-step framework a bank must satisfy to demonstrate that a payee is fictitious or … Read More
China Signs Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements
We previously wrote that Ontario had enacted the International Choice of Court Agreements Convention Act, 2017, which will give effect to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Hague Convention”) in Ontario once Canada ratifies the Hague Convention. (Canada has not yet signed or ratified the Hague Convention.) Since our previous blog post, the People’s Republic of China signed the Hague Convention. China has not yet ratified the Hague Convention, which requires approval by the National People’s Congress. China’s signing of the Hague Convention represents an important step towards more widespread adoption of the convention. The lawyers are Gilbertson Davis have experience in international litigation and arbitration, and in interpreting international conventions. Please contact us for an initial consultation.
Supreme Court of Canada Narrowly Rules Facebook’s Jurisdiction Clause Unenforceable
Facebook, and most other large social media and internet companies, set out in their terms of use that users of their services must bring any litigation disputes in the jurisdiction of their choice. However, in Douez v. Facebook, the Supreme Court of Canada has recently held, in a 4-3 decision, that Facebook could not enforce that clause against the plaintiff, a British Columbia woman complaining that their use of her photo and name in advertising breached her rights under British Columbia’s Privacy Act. Notably, the Privacy Act specifically requires that any action under that statute “must be heard” by the British Columbia Supreme Court. The majority held that while a jurisdiction clause is ordinarily enforceable, it could not be enforced in this instance as doing so would violate public policy, since the quasi-constitutional rights the statute provides and the exclusive jurisdiction to BC courts it requires means that the statute ought to be interpreted … Read More
CASL Private Right of Action Suspended Indefinitely
In a recent press release, the Canadian government stated that they will be suspending the introduction of the private right of action set out in Canada’s anti-spam legislation (frequently referred to as CASL). The private right of action was meant to come into effect on July 1, 2017, but the government has suspended the implementation of this section to give a parliamentary committee more time to review the legislation and determine the best course of action to balance the protection of Canadian consumers against minimizing extra costs and unintended breaches by business owners. The legislation has received mixed reviews thus far. While undoubtedly a step forward in minimizing unwanted spam, many business owners have expressed concern that the definition of commercial activity are vague, the requirements for consent are onerous, and the penalties for even unintentional non-compliance are harsh. The private right of action (most likely to be done as class … Read More
Court Considers When Jurisdiction May be Found Against Sole Officer And Director of Foreign Corporation
In Olympique CMCT Inc. v Les Industries Pancor Limitée, 2017 ONSC 1929, the Plaintiff, Olympique, was a Quebec company. Olympique obtained default judgment in a Quebec action against the Defendants Pancor, an insolvent Ontario company, and Panarese, Pancor’s sole officer and director. Olympique brought an action in Ontario seeking recognition and enforcement of the Quebec judgment against Panarese in Ontario. Panarese argued that Ontario should not enforce the Quebec judgment because, among other reasons, the Quebec Court did not have jurisdiction to grant the Quebec judgment against him. Panarese lived in Ontario. Pancor was primarily located in Ontario. However, the Court stated that it was sufficient that Quebec had a real and substantial connection with the subject matter of the action, even if it had no connection with Panarese. The Court found that Panarese signed purchase orders which were transmitted to Olympique in Quebec, meaning that the contracts between Pancor and … Read More
Blockchain Technologies Create Novel Legal Issues
Blockchain technology is increasingly gaining traction in a variety of different markets and industries, including insurance, securities, and enforcing contracts, and with these new uses come new legal considerations. Blockchain is essentially a ledger, decentralized with copies maintained across numerous computers, which maintains records of transactions which can be added to in an automated and secure manner. Because the entire history of the validated blockchain ledger is incorporated into all subsequent versions of the ledger, it allows for easy verification of the completion and authenticity of a transaction, since the history of the fund or asset can be traced back to the beginning of the entire blockchain. It is also very resistant to fraud and hacking, since any attempt to create a fraudulent transaction the blockchain must simultaneously modify all previous versions of the blockchain on the majority of the computers running the ledger in order for the transaction to be validated. One of the … Read More
Partnership Disputes & Joint Venture Litigation
Our lawyers have acted in Ontario and other jurisdictions for partners in small and mid-sized partnerships, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and contractual parties and partners in joint ventures. Partnership Disputes Partnership is a relationship between persons carrying on a business in common with a view to profit, which is not a corporation. It is one of the most commonly used business associations for small and medium-sized business. A partnership can be created at law and the Partnerships Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.5 sets out rules for determining existence of partnership, though commonly the parties enter into a partnership agreement. Joint Venture – Is it a Partnership? Joint ventures are often established to synergize what each member of the joint venture can add to the consortium. Sometimes a joint venture is the structure chosen because those members engaged in the joint venture are located in different jurisdictions. While invariably created by contractual agreement, some … Read More
Business Dirty Tricks: Unfair Competition: Intentional Interference, Inducing Breach of Contract, Conspiracy and Defamation
Sometimes businesses and their stakeholders act wrongfully in seeking to advance their interests and / or harm competitors. There are often reports of the “dirty tricks” used by those in business to seek to destroy, defeat or diminish the effectiveness of a competitor. These are often unethical tactics, but sometimes such conduct is also wrongful and has been recognized by the common law as actionable in the courts for damages or injunctive or other urgent equitable relief, or prohibited by a statute which provides for a civil monetary remedy or grounds for an injunction. These causes of action have been recognized and provide the basis of lawsuits for harm, loss and damage, and in suitable circumstances, grounds for an immediate injunction or mandatory order prohibiting the further commission of the wrongful acts. In short, wrongful intentional acts causing harm, loss or damage to businesses or their stakeholders may give rise to a cause of action in common law business torts (the so-called … Read More
Court Upholds Prevailing Contract Clause
In the recent case of 1252662 Ontario Inc. v Swisslog, the Ontario Court of Superior Justice held that a contractual clause which provided that, in the event of a conflict with another agreement, that terms of the other agreement would prevail. In this case, the parties had entered into a multi-million dollar construction contract. One of the documents to the contract set out a number of terms which limited the liability of the defendant as against the plaintiff for a wide variety of issues, including delay in construction. However, that document also provided that the terms of a companion document would prevail in the event of any conflict between the two terms. That companion document provided a general statement that the plaintiff had “all rights and remedies provided by law and by this agreement”. The construction was ultimately delayed, and the plaintiff sued for its common law damages as incurred a … Read More
UberHop Launches in Toronto
Uber is in the news again this week after it announced that, starting December 15, 2015, a new service called “uberHOP” will be available “along Toronto’s most popular routes during peak hours.” Using uberHOP a user can request to be picked up along one of the four designated, downtown Toronto routes from one of the predetermined “pickup spots”. The service is to be provided for a flat “fare” of $5.00. The Toronto Transit Commission (the “TTC”) has reportedly asked its lawyers to consider uberHOP in the context of the TTC’s right to operate, maintain and control local passenger transportation services in Toronto. Specifically, the City of Toronto Act, 2006 provides: Exclusive authority of TTC 395. (1) No person other than the TTC shall establish, operate or maintain a local passenger transportation system within the City until the TTC is dissolved or the control and management over the local passenger transportation system is removed from … Read More
Supreme Court Clarifies Jurisdiction Requirements for Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
In Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the jurisdictional requirements for an Ontario court to consider a proceeding to enforce a foreign judgment. In this case, the plaintiffs obtained judgment against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador for some $9.5 billion USD, and they sought to enforce that judgment in Canada, against both Chevron Corp. and the Canadian subsidiary, Chevron Canada. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that the plaintiff does not have to show a real and substantial connection between Ontario and the foreign judgment debtor. The court need only be satisfied that there is a real and substantial connection between the foreign court and the defendant when the foreign court issued its judgment. Ontario courts will have jurisdiction over a foreign defendant in an enforcement proceeding as long as the defendant was properly served. It is not even a requirement that the defendant have assets in Ontario prior … Read More
Oppression Actions vs. Derivative Actions under the OBCA
The Ontario Business Corporations Act (OBCA) provides broad remedial options for directors, officers, shareholders, and other “complainants” to correct oppressive or prejudicial actions by or against a corporation. Most commonly, these take the form of either an oppression action or a derivative action. Oppression actions are where a complainant commences an action where that individuals interests have been oppressed or unfairly prejudiced. Derivative actions, on the other hand, are where a complainant starts litigation in the name of the corporation where the corporation has been wronged and the corporation (by its board of directors) chooses not to commence litigation itself. Because derivative actions bring the corporation into litigation without its consent, and often require the corporation to pay the legal costs of that action, leave of the court is required to commence a derivative action. Tersigni v. Georgevitch OBCA actions, and in particular oppression actions, can sometimes blur the legal distinction between … Read More
Bad Faith Claims against Canadian Liability Insurers: Sober Second Thought
No aspect of insurance defence counsel’s tripartite retainer with an insured and a liability carrier more frequently strains the divided loyalty more than the over-limits exposure. Whether it is an automobile policy responding to a catastrophic bodily injury claim, or a general liability policy building collapse or fire attributed to the carelessness of a tradesperson, the cost of indemnity has increased dramatically in relation to standard million-dollar policy limits. Those limits have not changed in Canada for over a decade. It is a matter of economic conflict between two independent markets. In a competition for premiums, underwriters have failed to market increases in policy limits, while medical and rebuilding costs for commercial buildings have soared. This simple divergence of demand-and-supply curves has many ramifications for tort law in Canada. Here, I discuss one issue, the rise and apparent panic in the insurance industry over the importation of an American doctrine … Read More
Bhasin v. Hrynew: A New ‘Fair Opportunity’ Doctrine in Canadian Contract Law?
On November 13, the Supreme Court in Bhasin v. Hrynew, 2014 SCC 71 (CanLII) changed the law of contract in Canada by imposing duties of good faith and honesty on all contractual relations. Until now, the duties have been applied to agreements in situations of power imbalance, notably insurance, employment and franchises. The plaintiff was a dealer in education savings plans, a type of consumer investment, offered by the corporate defendant. At the end of the three-year contract, the corporate defendant decided not to invoke a provision blocking the automatic renewal of the contract. The reason for its decision was the favouring of another dealer, the other defendant and a competitor of the plaintiff. On behalf of a unanimous court, Justice Cromwell stated three elements to the new state of contract law in siding with the plaintiff’s claim for damages: (1) There is a general organizing principle of good faith that underlies many … Read More
MtGox Bitcoin Bankruptcy Comes to Ontario
MtGox was reportedly the largest exchange for the digital current “bitcoin“. MtGox was forced to suspend trading in bitcoin after a massive digital theft or disappearance of the bitcoin it held. As a result, MtGox declared bankruptcy in Japan. Canadian customers of MtGox brought a class action for the value of their bitcoins. MtGox’s bankruptcy trustee applied for recognition of the Japanese bankruptcy proceedings in Canada as the “foreign main proceeding” under the Canada Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Recognition of the Japanese bankruptcy proceedings as foreign main proceeding would have the effect of automatically “staying” (blocking) the Ontario class action. The Court found that the Japanese bankruptcy proceeding was the foreign main proceeding because, among other things, MtGox had no offices, subsidiaries or assets in Canada, it was organized under Japanese law, its headquarters were in Japan, and its main bank accounts were in Japan. The Court stayed the Ontario class … Read More