Legal Blog

Pillar Update

In our newsletter of October 2003, we discussed the case of Pillar Sausages & Delicatessens Ltd v. Cobb, a 2003 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In that case, a purchaser ordered a machine from a vendor and paid for it in advance. The vendor did not deliver the machine and, after the purchaser’s demand, did not return the money. Using the oppression remedy under the Business Corporations Act, the purchaser not only obtained judgment against the corporate vendor, but against the sole director and officer.

We ended our account with the following: “The judge may well award costs on a substantial indemnity basis, because the actions of the defendants were so blatantly oppressive.”

The judge did indeed award costs on a substantial indemnity basis. He fixed these costs at $16,081.00, which was probably a bargain.

The director appealed the decision. In a decision in December 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and fixed further costs of $6,200.00.