Canada: Insolvency/Bankruptcy/Re-Structuring

Explore critical legal developments in receivership sales and real estate transactions, including how late bids can challenge approved sales and what developers need to know about pre-sale contract disputes. These cases highlight the delicate balance courts must strike between finality and maximizing value in insolvency proceedings.

When is a physical supply contract an eligible financial contract that cannot be disclaimed in CCAA proceedings? The Alberta Court of King's Bench provides detailed guidance on this recurring question for commodity suppliers, lenders and restructuring professionals, expressly disagreeing with earlier authority in a landmark decision involving natural gas supply agreements in Colombia.

Receiverships and bankruptcy proceedings often share objectives, including preserving value, centralizing control and maximizing recoveries, but involve different decision-makers and different statutory frameworks.

When a judgment debtor relocates from Alberta to Ontario with assets in the new province, creditors face specific procedural requirements to enforce their judgment. Ontario's Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act provides a framework for registration, but creditors must navigate service requirements, statutory exceptions, and strict time limitations to successfully enforce their out-of-province judgments.

Manufacturing leaders are accustomed to planning for equipment breakdowns, workforce shortages, cyber incidents, and shifting customer demand. Yet one of the costliest risks tends to build up gradually, outside the four walls of the business itself.

When a judgment debtor owns personal property such as vehicles, equipment, or valuable items, creditors can pursue seizure and sale through a bailiff to satisfy outstanding debts. This collection method involves investigating assets, physically seizing property, and auctioning goods to recover judgment amounts, though certain restrictions apply to protect basic necessities and lower-value items.