On September 8, the Canadian Department of Finance announced the signature of a memorandum of agreement (the "Agreement") between the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, and the federal government (the "Participating Jurisdictions") formalizing the terms and conditions of the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System (the "Cooperative System"), a project to set up a national regulator for the Canadian securities industry ...
The Superior Court considered two interesting issues in the case of Banque Laurentienne du Canada v. Yuan.1 First, it had to determine whether a term loan that was used to payout an existing term loan had resulted in the novation of the first debt. Second, it had to determine what the effect the contract titled (translation) “Credit Facility Secured by Hypothec”2 had on the survival of the disputed hypothec.FACTSThe Court’s decision describes the circumstances of the dispute ...
More and more “shops in a shop” are appearing on the retail landscape. They can be organised as a truly separate shop or just a display of specific brand products amongst the other products, be it in shopping centres, department stores or just regular shops allocating some square meters to another (complimentary) brand. Regularly, parties to the contractual documentation for such a “shop in a shop” do not always expressly apply the provisions of the Law on Commercial Leases ...
More and more “shops in a shop” are appearing on the retail landscape. They can be organised as a truly separate shop or just a display of specific brand products amongst the other products, be it in shopping centres, department stores or just regular shops allocating some square meters to another (complimentary) brand. Regularly, parties to the contractual documentation for such a “shop in a shop” do not always expressly apply the provisions of the Law on Commercial Leases ...
Earlier this week, on September 29, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) took action against Michigan-based Flagstar Bank, fining it $10 million and ordering $27.5 million in payments to consumers. Flagstar allegedly “took excessive time to process borrowers’ applications for foreclosure relief, failed to tell borrowers when their applications were incomplete, denied loan modifications to qualified borrowers, and illegally delayed finalizing permanent loan modifications ...
On 1 August 2014, the Queensland government released consultation drafts of the Planning and Development Bill 2014 (P&D Bill) and the Planning and Environment Court Bill 2014 (PEC Bill). The draft Planning Bills are proposed to replace the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld) (SPA) and seek to implement a new land-use planning and development assessment system that promotes prosperity through balancing economic growth, environmental protection and community wellbeing ...
The Scottish electorate has voted ‘no’ to independence. However, the ‘no’ vote will still result in constitutional change for Scotland, not least because of the pledge by all main UK political parties to devolve further powers to the Scottish Parliament. Additionally, key provisions of the Scotland Act 2012 will come into force over the next two years giving the Scottish government additional powers and a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU is proposed for 2017 ...
On September 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling in the so called “banks’ cases”1, in the context of which consumers instituted class actions to recover the conversion fees charged on credit card transactions in foreign currencies by many institutions issuing such cards. The plaintiffs were maintaining that these charges were contravening the Consumer Protection Act (Quebec) (the “CPA”) ...
The Brazilian Securities Exchange Commission (“CVM”) has made public its Board of Directors’ decision issued on August 12, 2014, with respect to CVM Proceeding No. 2014/6342 (“Proceeding”). The Proceeding was initiated by SPE STX 25 Desenvolvimento Imobiliário S.A. (“STX”) concerning the development of the “Rio Business Soft Inn”,because STX intended to sell 151 hotel units (“condo hotel units”) during the construction period, at an average price of R$400,000.00 in accordance with Law No. 4 ...
The Central Bank of Ireland has today issued its feedback statement on Consultation Paper 85 dealing with loan originating qualifying investor alternative investment funds (QIAIFs). In the feedback statement the Central Bank has announced that it will allow for the authorisation of QIAIFs that originate loans from 1 October 2014. The Central Bank's AIF Rulebook is being updated to reflect this change ...
In the last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission has announced charges in two separate investigations related to its “Broken Windows” initiative, signaling that the Commission’s focus on what some may characterize as “minor violations” will continue ...
Last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an important opinion for lenders in this state. The opinion reversed the North Carolina Court of Appeals’ decision in RL REGI N.C., LLC v. Lighthouse Cove, LLC, which found that a waiver of claims contained in a forbearance agreement could not waive a guarantor’s affirmative defense that a guaranty was obtained in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The Lighthouse Cove case involves a familiar story for many lenders ...
GST/QST Election: Get Ready for 2015 Carolyne Corbeil and Emmanuel SalaGenerally, certain corporations or partnerships within a same group who are engaged exclusively in commercial activities, may make intra-group supplies of taxable goods or services without having to collect or remit the GST/QST otherwise applicable to such supplies ...
Most commercial leases contain terms that require tenants to pay additional rent. Additional rent is usually a share of the costs and charges incurred to operate the property. These costs can include municipal taxes, insurance premiums, repair and maintenance costs and common area utility charges. In any given year, these charges change and fluctuate. Landlords often provide an annual estimate which tenants pay subject to a year-end reconciliation ...
On September 9, 2014, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued CFTC Letter No. 14-116 (the “CFTC Letter”) providing exemptive relief allowing commodity pools to use general solicitation in certain types of private offerings, including offerings of private fund interests. The CFTC Letter is available here ...
On 17 May 2011 the National Assembly adopted the Law on Notary Public (“the Law”), which came into effect on 1 September 2014. The new Law introduces the Notary Public into the Serbian legal system, which should help to relieve the judiciary, improve its efficiency, and improve legal security. A Notary Public is an independent and autonomous legal expert, who performs a service of public trust ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently published six new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) related to the verification process for accredited investors under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D. The C&DIs indicate that the SEC is strictly construing the income and net worth safe harbors for verification of a purchaser’s status as an accredited investor ...
This is a simplified guide to the process of buying a property in the Turks and Caicos Islands. While all reasonable endeavours are taken to ensure that it is correct at the time of print it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis of the relevant laws as may be applicable to you ...
SOMMAIRE Nominee in the context of litigationUse of a nominee by limited partnershi8ps and trusts for holding immovablesVoluntary registration for GST and QST purposes by a nomineeImmovables held by a nominee: issues with respect to consumption taxes NOMINEES IN THE CONTEXT OF LITIGATION Léa Maalouf In commercial matters, it frequently happens that two persons agree to hide their true intent from third parties and express such intent in a secret contract (or counter letter), while
Section 3(e)(i) of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (the Act) provides that agricultural land shall not be sold or advertised unless the Minister has consented to it in writing. There are currently conflicting judgements as to whether this provision applies to an option to purchase agricultural land ...
COOLING TOWERS AND ASBESTOS : NEW OBLIGATIONS FOR OWNERS, TENANTS, MANAGERS AND EMPLOYERS Over the last year and half, the legislator has addressed the building safety issues in order to ensure the safety of the occupants and visitors of these buildings, as well as the persons who may be exposed to hazards because of equipment attached to such buildings ...
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) has published a form of amendment to the 1992 and 2002 ISDA Master Agreements intended to address continuing uncertainty regarding the condition precedent set forth in Section 2(a)(iii) of both such Master Agreements (“Section 2(a)(iii)”) ...
On 26 March 2014, the Minister of Law and Human Rights (“Minister”) issued Regulation No. 5 of 2014 on Validation of Foundations (“Regulation”). Briefly, the Regulation redefines the procedures and requirements for securing approval for the name of a foundation and its validation by the Minister ...
