In the matter of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement
Act ("CCAA") of the S.M. Group, the
Québec Court of Appeal rendered a ruling on the effect of the law of
set-off on debts arising out of alleged fraud and the application
of the same Court's ruling in Kitco
to this type of debts. The Court held that the rule prohibiting a
creditor from setting-off a post-filing debt owed to the debtor
against a pre-filing debt due by that debtor applies even if the
latter debt cannot be compromised by a transaction or an
arrangement.
Background: claims arising out of the debtors'
fraudulent acts
The City of Montréal (the
"City") claims to be owed two debts by
the debtors, the S.M. Group and entities related to it (the
"S.M. Group"), which are subject to an
initial order issued under the CCAA on August 24, 2018.