CHAPTER 16 Civil Litigation
SPECIAL ORDERS: MAREVA INJUNCTIONS, ANTON PILLER ORDERS AND NORWICH ORDERS A “Mareva injunction” is named after the English case of Mareva Compania Naviera SA v International Bulkcarriers SA . It is, in essence, a freezing order: a Mareva injunction prohibits a party from disposing of or transferring assets in the court’s home jurisdiction and, if the circumstances so warrant, worldwide. A Mareva injunction will not be granted absent proof that there is a real risk that the defendant will dissipate assets and thereby render a final judgment against the defendant ineffectual. An “Anton Piller order” is named after the English case of Anton Piller KG v Manufacturing Processes Ltd . This type of order allows a plaintiff to enter the premises of the defendant to seize and preserve evidence relevant to a civil action. Anton Piller orders are exceptionally rare; they are granted only when the plaintiff has a strong case against the defendant and can demonstrate on the facts that, absent such an order, there is a real possibility that relevant evidence will be destroyed or otherwise disappear.
Québec does not have a summary judgment procedure. Québec does, however, allow the court to impose a wide variety of sanctions for “improper use of procedure,” including the dismissal of a proceeding on its merits if it is clearly unfounded, frivolous or dilatory. The court in Québec also has the discretion to sanction in a variety of ways a party’s conduct that is vexatious, quarrelsome, in bad faith or excessive, which is intended (among other things) to sanction SLAPP cases. In Québec, the burden of proof on a party seeking the dismissal of an action at a preliminary stage on any grounds is very high. INJUNCTIONS In both Ontario and Québec, a party may ask the court for an injunction, which is an order either preventing a person from engaging in certain conduct or requiring a person to perform a particular act. Injunctions may be permanent and awarded by final judgment or may be granted on an interim basis, pending a final judgment. An interim injunction will generally be granted only if the moving party can establish that it will suffer irreparable harm (harm that cannot be compensated in monetary damages) in the absence of the injunction and that the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction. The general rule in Ontario is that a party seeking an interim injunction must give an undertaking to pay for any damages suffered by the other party as a consequence of the injunction if the court later determines that the injunction should not have been issued. In Québec, undertakings for damages may be ordered but are rare.
Mareva injunctions, Anton Piller orders and Norwich orders are available throughout Canada, including in Ontario and Québec.
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