For a private company involved in legal proceedings, a request
by other parties for the disclosure of its financial statements can
be cause for concern, due to the sensitivity of information and
issues that may arise from disclosure.
When faced with such a request, judges often seek to balance the
rights of the parties to ensure that no one is prejudiced or gains
an undue advantage over the other.
This article examines how the protective measures ordered by the
Superior Court of Quebec in Moose International Inc. v. Moose
Knuckles Canada Inc. illustrate such a balancing act.
In that case, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants, one of
which is a minority shareholder of the plaintiff Moose
International Inc., are engaged in unfair competition and trademark
infringement. In two judgments, the court orders two different sets
of protective measures with respect to the disclosure of financial
statements. The protective measures ordered by the court differ
depending
