Recent Developments Of Importance: Corporate And Commercial Litigation

Important developments have taken place this past year regarding litigation related to transactions and capital markets that will have long-term consequences for the structuring of transactions and the obligations of directors and officers. The proposed acquisition of BCE Inc. by a private equity consortium led to litigation that dealt with significant legal issues in respect of directors' duties and the statutory oppression remedy and culminated in the Supreme Court of Canada's approval of the transaction. Other recent decisions have advanced the law relating to the scope of prospectus and continuous disclosure requirements, and regulatory and civil liability for violations of these disclosure obligations.