Hein Poulus, KC and Kelly Ann Maw successfully obtained leave to appeal a Mareva injunction granted in complex family, trust and estate litigation.
Because a Mareva injunction in BC is a limited appeal order, leave from the Court is required in order to bring an appeal. In determining whether to grant leave, the Court of Appeal will assess whether the point on appeal is of significance to the practice and to the action itself, whether the appeal has merit, whether the appeal will unduly hinder the progress of the action, and whether granting leave is in the interests of justice.
In this case, an ex parte Mareva injunction was granted at the outset of the litigation against multiple defendants which prevented them from in any way disposing of, dealing with, or diminishing the value of their assets. Despite a Mareva injunction being a discretionary order of the Court, which raises the bar to obtain leave to appeal as such orders are subject to a further leave test, Hein and Kelly Ann successfully argued that the Court should grant leave to appeal the order at issue. The issues on appeal included the proper test to be applied for granting Mareva injunctions in British Columbia in light of the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 2018 SCC 5.
For more information on related legal issues, please contact Hein or Kelly Ann.
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