Girvan (Re)

Girvan (Re) Court Supreme Court Date 2001-02-12 Citation 2001 NSSC 220 Docket 51-082832 Judge/Registrar/Adjudicator Hill, Tim (Registrar) Document Type Decision Decision Content CANADA PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA COURT NO: 22355 ESTATE NO: 51-082832 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA IN BANKRUPTCY IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY OF CATHY ANN GIRVAN _______________________________________________________________ D E C I S I O N _______________________________________________________________ Cite as: Girvan (Re), 2001 NSSC 220 HEARD BEFORE: Tim Hill, Registrar in Bankruptcy DATE HEARD: November 27, 2000 DECISION: February 12, 2001 COUNSEL: Donald G. Peverill representing the Bankrupt, Cathy Ann Girvan D. Bruce Clarke representing the Trustee, McCuaig & Company Inc. On even date herewith I rendered by decision in the matter of the application for discharge of William Malcolm Girvan, the spouse of the bankrupt Cathy Ann Girvan. Ms. Girvan originally made an assignment in bankruptcy in July of 1998, and was discharged in September of 1999. She again filed an assigned in bankruptcy in December of 1999. It would appear that Ms. Girvan’s financial difficulties came about in large part as a result of her involvement with her spouse and her spouse’s various business ventures. It seems that some of these business ventures were in her name, although she had little or no involvement in the actual business itself, which was carried out by her spouse. Counsel for Ms. Girvan invites me to find that Ms. Girvan had no direct dealings with the creditors involved in this bankruptcy and that she was not the author of her own misfortune. The trustee suggested that while he is not seeking a conditional order due to the lack of means of the bankrupt, there should be a substantial period of suspension given that there were only three months between the discharge on the first bankruptcy and the assignment in the second. In addition, Ms. Girvan has been less than cooperative during the period of this bankruptcy. In my decision in Mr. Girvan’s case, I listed a number of the facts that I should consider on an application for discharge and the manner in which the application should be approached by the court. Without reiterating that list, I have concluded that I should exercise my discretion to suspend Ms. Girvan’s discharge. Notwithstanding the submissions of her counsel, I do not think that I should take into account the period since September 21, 2000 until the date of this decision in determining the length of suspension. That is not the normal practice of this court, and I do not intend to make it the normal practice. Ms. Girvan’s discharge shall be suspended for a period of one year from the date of the hearing, that is until November 26, 2001. There will no requirement for conditional payments. The trustee shall have his costs out of the estate in the normal manner. Dated at Halifax, Nova Scotia this 12th day of February, 2001. __________________ Registrar in Bankruptcy