Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
41937
American Pacific Corporation v. RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc.
(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-26 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2026-03-26 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2026-03-26 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number COA-23-CV-1066, 2025 ONCA 371, dated May 15, 2025, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2026-02-09 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-11-13 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), the applicant in relation to the CA Order and draft Order, (Printed version filed on 2025-11-18) | American Pacific Corporation |
| 2025-09-25 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-11-13, (Printed version filed on 2025-09-25) | American Pacific Corporation |
| 2025-09-15 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2025-09-15) | RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. |
| 2025-09-15 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2025-09-15) | RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. |
| 2025-09-15 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-09-15, (Printed version filed on 2025-09-15) | RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. |
| 2025-08-15 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2025-08-15; | |
| 2025-08-14 | Book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-08-15, (Printed version filed on 2025-08-14) | American Pacific Corporation |
| 2025-08-14 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A;, (Printed version filed on 2025-08-14) | American Pacific Corporation |
| 2025-08-14 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2025-08-14) | American Pacific Corporation |
| 2025-08-14 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Draft CA Order filed on 2025-11-12, Completed on: 2025-08-14, (Printed version filed on 2025-08-14) | American Pacific Corporation |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| American Pacific Corporation | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: American Pacific Corporation
Counsel
Madeline Klimek
Brookfield Place
4400 – 181 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2T3
Telephone: (416) 865-7043
FAX: (416) 865-7048
Email: stephen.brown-okruhlik@mcmillan.ca
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Party: RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc.
Counsel
Natasha Rambaran
1700 – 80 Richmond Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2A4
Telephone: (416) 613-0066
FAX: (416) 613-8290
Email: bbissell@reconllp.com
Agent
400-411 Roosevelt Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K2A 3X9
Telephone: (613) 288-0149
FAX: (613) 688-0271
Email: lstack@conwaylitigation.ca
Summary
Keywords
Bankruptcy and insolvency — Trustees — Preferences — Preferences presumed — Company making payments to major supplier slightly more than month before assigning itself into bankruptcy — Trustee bringing motion for order declaring payment void for giving supplier preference over other unpaid creditors — Bankruptcy judge dismissing motion — Court of Appeal allowing appeal and ordering supplier repay amount — Whether assessment of debtor’s intention under s. 95(2) of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act constrained by requirement that debtor act for purpose of maximizing creditor recoveries — Whether judge’s determination that a legal presumption has been rebutted by evidence is a finding of fact, law or mixed fact and law — Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3, s. 95.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
The equitable treatment of creditors is one of the goals of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3 (“BIA”). In furtherance of that purpose the BIA permits a trustee in bankruptcy, in defined circumstances, to treat a pre-bankruptcy transaction that advantaged one creditor over others as void.
Specialty Chemical Industries Inc. (“Specialty”) made payments totaling USD $400,000 to one of its major suppliers, the applicant American Pacific Corporation (“AmPac”), slightly more than a month before Speciality assigned itself into bankruptcy. Specialty was insolvent when it made the payments and the effect of the payments was to give AmPac a preference over other unpaid creditors.
Specialty made a voluntary assignment into bankruptcy on July 25, 2018. A. Farber & Partners Inc. was appointed trustee in bankruptcy.
Specialty’s trustee in bankruptcy was unsuccessful in its claim to recover the amount of the payments from AmPac. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and set aside the decision of the bankruptcy judge.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
31-2403066
Motion made by trustee in bankruptcy of the bankruptcy estate of Specialty for an order declaring that certain payments made by the bankrupt to AmPac are void against the Trustee was dismissed.
Appeal allowed, order of bankruptcy judge set aside, and in place it was ordered that the June 2018 payments were void and must be repaid by AmPac.
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available