Court Of Appeal Affirms Security For Judgment Alive And Well

Security for judgment is an exceptional remedy only granted in exceptional circumstances. The court prefers to leave debt collection under the auspices of the Civil Enforcement Act. Nevertheless, exceptional circumstances do exist, like misrepresenting your assets in an attempt to avoid collection. The Alberta Court of Appeal has confirmed that security for judgment is alive and well in its recent decision of Vaillancourt v Carter, 2017 ABCA 282 [Vaillancourt].

Background

Ms. Anne Marie Vaillancourt sued Mr. Kenneth R. Carter to enforce her ownership interest in a series of Jenny Craig franchises. The litigation lasted 12 years, but a judgment was finally rendered against both Carter and his company Encott Enterprises Corp. Vaillancourt was awarded $1,097,234 plus interest and costs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carter was in no hurry to satisfy the judgment. Vaillancourt commenced civil enforcement proceedings, which included the swearing of a Form 13