The recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision 1007374 Alberta Ltd v Ruggieri, is an
interesting case that affirms an important trial court decision on
fraudulent conveyances and oppression. While not a dramatic
reframing of the law in these issues, it does highlight the
willingness of the courts to sanction those who attempt to
"creditor-proof" their companies to escape judgment
enforcement.
The facts are that in 2011, the respondent in the Court of
Appeal decision had successfully sued
A. Ruggieri Engineering Ltd. ("Ruggieri Ltd."), a
corporation solely owned and operated by Antonio Ruggieri. Although
there was no appeal of the decision by the defendant corporation,
by the time the respondent attempted to enforce the judgment he
learned that the appellants had filed for a name change. They had
also granted general security agreements and promissory notes in
favour of Antonio Ruggieri and another corporation of which Mr.
Ruggieri happened to be the sole director.
