Precedent set for lawyers representing fraud victims
May 1, 2018
The Divisional Court has granted what lawyers say is the first appeal in Ontario that did not provide notice to a defendant.
In 2092280 Ontario Inc. v. Voralto Group Inc., plaintiffs sought a Mareva injunction on an ex parte basis to stop an alleged fraudster from dissipating any of its assets. A motion judge refused to grant the order finding notice must be given to the defendant.
The Divisional Court, however, set aside the motion judge’s decision, finding that a requirement to notify the alleged perpetrators of fraud in advance of an impending Mareva injunction “would significantly water down an important remedy for protecting innocent victims.”
Jason Squire, a partner with Lerners LLP, who was not involved in the case, says the decision provides a pretty clear set of directions from the Divisional Court to judges who deal with these kinds of injunctions daily, as to what to do with a set of fraud allegations and whether to grant Mareva orders on an ex parte basis.
