On March 7, 2018, Justice Dunphy of the Superior Court of Justice, Commercial List, in Toronto, issued his judgment in the case of Atlas Copco Canada Inc. v. David Hillier, 2018 ONSC 1588. In this case, the plaintiff Atlas Copco Canada Inc. had brought a motion for summary judgment against one of the defendants – Mr. Plate – for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. The Court dismissed Atlas …Read More
We are often asked by fraud victims – what happens to their judgment if the defendant assigns him or herself into bankruptcy? Does the bankruptcy assignment wipe away the debt? The answer is generally “no” when the claim was pleaded as a fraud and/or breach of trust, where a declaration is pleaded that the judgment survives bankruptcy, and where a Court makes a finding of fraud and/or breach of trust. …Read More
We are often asked by fraud victims for recovery information with respect to breaches of trust related to land transactions. We recently recovered $2.+M for victims of fraud in a land transaction where the initial investment was $1.+M. This recovery was obtained by way of a settlement on the evening before a four week trial was scheduled to commence. While our case involved a settlement, the facts were somewhat similar …Read More
Giving a Rogue Notice of a Criminal Complaint is Not Extortion On November 9, 2017, I co-chaired a panel at a Law Society of Upper Canada Continuing Legal Education Conference on Fraud Recovery Law. The panel members were Justice Todd Archibald, criminal defence lawyer Brian Greenspan, and my co-chair bankruptcy lawyer Frank Bennett. The question posed to the panel that resulted in the most discussion between the panel members and …Read More
The Supreme Court of Canada Issues Judgment on the Livent Case In a judgment dated December 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) rendered its decision in Deloitte & Touche v. Livent Inc. (Receiver of), 2017 SCC 63, creating a new standard for recovery for victim shareholders against auditors where the management of a company had engaged in fraud. Back in 2000, the shareholders of Livent sued Deloitte, alleging that the …Read More
Fraud and Sex Do Not Amount to Damages for Emotional Distress We are often asked by fraud victims if they can recover by way of a judgment for damages for the emotional distress they experience as a result of the fraud perpetrated on them. Many fraud victims experience significant emotional distress that results in depression, loss of confidence, the breakdown of marital or other relationships, etc. This blog provides some …Read More
It is commonly recognized that there are options open to a bankruptcy trustee that are not available in the fraud recovery civil litigation process, such as the compelling of documents and examinations without court orders. There can be considerable cost savings in the recovery process to a fraud victim by utilizing the bankruptcy courts. The downside to recovery through bankruptcy, however, is that the victim becomes one creditor of potentially …Read More
On November 9, 2017, the Law Society of Upper Canada is holding a full day seminar on fraud recovery law. This seminar forms part of our firm’s ongoing victim advocacy efforts. This seminar is not restricted to lawyers. Anyone from our fraud recovery networks, including police and private sector professionals, may attend either in person at the Law Society conference centre, or by webcast. For further information, see https://store.lsuc.on.ca/bankruptcy-and-fraud-recovery-law. …Read More
On September 14, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court released its decision in Wescom v. Minetto, 2015 ONSC 5568.[1] This is an important decision for victims of fraud as it discusses the legal test a court will consider when deciding whether to permit a fraud victim to recover from those who receive the proceeds of the fraud perpetrated against them. The Underlying Fraud Action The plaintiff Wescom Solutions Inc. (“Wescom”) …Read More
The massive law firm server hack that resulted in the leak of documents that came to be known as the Panama Papers brought significant media attention to the kind of information that can be obtained from secured databases that may assist the victims of fraud in obtaining a recovery. To this end, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (“ICIJ”) has created a website entitled Panama Papers – Politicians, Criminals and …Read More
