Case information

Administrative law – Boards and tribunals – Ontario Securities Commission – Admissibility of experts’ reports – Legal tests to apply on motions – Whether the lower court erred in law in declining to admit experts’ reports – Security for costs – Whether the lower court erred in law in ordering security for costs – Whether there are issues of public importance raised.

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.

In 2013, the applicants were found to have committed a number of breaches of securities law, including engaging or participating in acts that they knew or reasonably ought to have known perpetrated a fraud. The respondent imposed sanctions on the applicants, including lifetime trading bans, disgorgement of over $3,000,000, administrative penalties of $600,000 each for North American Capital Inc., Luigino Arconti and Alexander Flavio Arconti and costs of $200,000. This application for leave to appeal pertains to three motions before the Divisional Court. The Divisional Court held that the applicants’ expert reports were unnecessary, irrelevant, or improperly addressed matters of domestic law or factual findings, which are within the court’s expertise. The respondent’s motion to strike out the seven expert affidavits/reports was granted. Regarding the applicants’ motion for leave to adduce more than three expert reports, the Divisional Court held that, in view of their decision to strike out all seven reports, there is no need to address this issue, and the applicants’ motion was dismissed. The Divisional Court also granted the respondent security for its costs of the motions in the amount of $100,000.