Legal Blog

Guarantee

Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. v. Aquino 2025 Ont SCJ

John Aquino, a former director of Bondfield Construction Company Limited, provided an unlimited personal guarantee for Bondfield’s credit facility agreement with Bridging Finance Inc. Bondfield defaulted, leading Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. (who acquired the debt) to sue Aquino on the guarantee. Aquino argued against summary judgment, claiming the matter was too complex, key documents were missing, and partial summary judgment was inappropriate given his third-party claims against other Bondfield officers. The court disagreed, finding the guarantee’s enforceability was straightforward despite the insolvency’s complexity. The motion judge rejected Aquino’s claims of creditor misconduct, including impairing security, and altering priority interests; the guarantee explicitly permitted these actions. The court granted summary judgment for $40.8 mil plus interest of $27.8 mil. Aquino has appealed. SNF acted for Zurich.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.