Pope & Talbot Ltd. (Re)
The court declined to decide XL's intervention application on the record as filed but permitted XL to return with fulsome principled submissions on April 4, 2011; in the meantime the court directed XL to honour its commitment to provide a defence for P&T Inc., ordered XL to appoint defence counsel forthwith, required the Receiver to deliver P&T Inc.'s document index and contact information for relevant former employees to defence counsel, and directed that statements of defence be filed in accordance with the Litigation Protocol, while leaving open XL's further application to intervene or replace defence counsel pending full submissions.
- Citation
- 2011 BCSC 789
- Parties
- Debtor: Harmac Employees aka Pope & Talbot Ltd.; Related Company: Pope & Talbot Lumber Sales Inc.; Related Company: Pope & Talbot Pulp Sales U.S. Inc.; Related Company: Pope & Talbot Relocation Services Inc.; Creditor: Abelco Finance LLP; Receiver: PriceWaterhouseCoopers Inc.; Insurer / Proposed Intervener: XL Specialty Insurance; Insurer: Federal Insurance Company; Respondents / Former Directors: Dodd and certain other Former Directors; Insurer: National Union Fire Insurance
- Court
- Supreme Court of British Columbia
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 14 March 2011
- Procedural Posture
- CCAA Proceedings and Receivership Insolvency Matter / Pre Trial Application Concerning Insurer Intervention, Coverage Issues and Trial Management (oral Reasons/directions)
- Outcome
- Application by XL reserved; directions given to facilitate immediate defence of P&T Inc. and to allow XL to return with full submissions; procedural orders made to manage documents and pleadings; liberty to apply to discharge and replace defence counsel retained for P&T Inc.
- Legal Topics
- Intervention, Insurance Coverage Disputes, Proper Law of Insurance Policies, Stay of Proceedings Under Insolvency Legislation, Trial Management, Production of Documents by Receiver
- Source Language
- English
Case Brief
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Harmac Employees aka Pope & Talbot Ltd.
Debtor
Pope & Talbot Lumber Sales Inc.
Related Company
Pope & Talbot Pulp Sales U.S. Inc.
Related Company
Pope & Talbot Relocation Services Inc.
Related Company
Abelco Finance LLP
Creditor
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Inc.
Receiver
XL Specialty Insurance
Insurer / Proposed Intervener
Federal Insurance Company
Insurer
Dodd and certain other Former Directors
Respondents / Former Directors
National Union Fire Insurance
Insurer
Procedural Posture
CCAA Proceedings and Receivership Insolvency Matter / Pre Trial Application Concerning Insurer Intervention, Coverage Issues and Trial Management (oral Reasons/directions)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether insurer XL may intervene in the underlying liability trial to defend P&T Inc.
- 2 Whether coverage issues as to P&T Inc. may be tried before liability in the context of insolvency
- 3 Whether XL may discharge appointed defence counsel and replace them with its coverage counsel
Ratio Decidendi
The court declined to decide XL's intervention application on the record as filed but permitted XL to return with fulsome principled submissions on April 4, 2011; in the meantime the court directed XL to honour its commitment to provide a defence for P&T Inc., ordered XL to appoint defence counsel forthwith, required the Receiver to deliver P&T Inc.'s document index and contact information for relevant former employees to defence counsel, and directed that statements of defence be filed in accordance with the Litigation Protocol, while leaving open XL's further application to intervene or replace defence counsel pending full submissions.
Court Disposition
Application by XL reserved; directions given to facilitate immediate defence of P&T Inc. and to allow XL to return with full submissions; procedural orders made to manage documents and pleadings; liberty to apply to discharge and replace defence counsel retained for P&T Inc.
Orders
- XL permitted to return on April 4, 2011 with fulsome principled brief to support intervention application
- XL directed to forthwith appoint defence counsel to defend P&T Inc. consistent with its February 10, 2011 commitment
Full Case Text
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