Warm Reception For Foreign Freezing Orders Under The BIA

In Pelletier (Re), 2020 ABQB 540, the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta provided guidance on the requirements that must be met for a Canadian court to recognize a freezing order from a foreign jurisdiction. In doing so, Justice Neufeld relied on landmark decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada to recognize a freezing order from the Cayman Islands.

Background

Richard Pelletier (the "Respondent", and together with Olga Pelletier, the "Respondents") was subject to a claim arising from the 2014 sale of his and his wholly-owned company's interests in a construction company, Pacer Construction Holdings Corporation ("Pacer"). In 2019, an arbitral panel awarded approximately $33 million in favour of Pacer, which was converted into a series of ABQB judgments later that year.