Recently, there have been a number of high-profile proxy fights involving trusts, particularly real estate investment trusts (REITs). In contrast to corporations, a trust is predominately governed by its declaration of trust (DOT). While a shareholder
Litigation
Leave to bring a derivative action: where one shareholder fails, another may succeed
In Eastern Platinum Limited v. Ren, 2024 BCCA 109, the BC Court of Appeal confirmed that where one activist shareholder’s proxy fight and subsequent derivative action fails, another shareholder represented by the same legal counsel can successfully obtain…
Corporate litigation update – shareholder rights under corporate statutes in Q1 2024
This blog post is the first of a new series looking at recent developments in Canadian corporate litigation, with a slight bias towards Ontario. The goal is to provide regular updates on court decisions that are of interest to the…
Unitholder Democracy Prevails in a “Good Hard Look” at Board Decision Making
On February 1, 2023, our Special Situations team successfully obtained an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) requiring that…
CSA/IIROC Staff Notice 23-329 – Short Selling in Canada
On December 8, 2022, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) jointly issued Staff Notice 23-329 – Short Selling in Canada (the Notice). The purpose of the Notice…
A Dive into the Surge of Cannabis-Related Securities Class Actions
After nearly two years since the recreational cannabis industry has been in operation, we are seeing a rise in securities class actions and regulatory activity relating to cannabis companies. Since legalization, the growth of the sector has been fast and…
When defamation in hostile proceedings leads to serious consequences
It will come as no surprise to those who have participated in a proxy fight to learn that these disputes can be heated affairs. Parties to a fight will routinely seek to discredit the other side to bolster their own…
The Digital Dilemma: Cybersecurity and Boardroom Best Practices in the Technological Age
Earlier this year, Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr. of the US Securities and Exchange Commission declared that cybersecurity is “the most pressing issue in corporate governance today.” Indeed, widespread digitization has fundamentally transformed the way that people do business, ushering in…
Defamation lawsuits as a defence to shareholder activism
Activist investors engaged in proxy fights typically mount aggressive public relations campaigns in order to undermine shareholder confidence in a target company’s performance and leadership, whether through social media, online forums or by using the more traditional PR channels. In…
Alberta Securities Commission declines to exercise public interest jurisdiction to terminate soliciting dealer arrangement in proxy fight
In its recent PointNorth Capital Inc. decision, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) was called upon to consider the appropriateness of a soliciting dealer arrangement that had been entered into by the issuer, Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd., in the context of…