The "Single Proceeding Model" Prevails In Ontario…At Least For This Case

In Mundo Media Ltd. (Re),2022 ONCA 607, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the "Court of Appeal") dismissed a motion for leave to appeal the motion judge's decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Mundo Media Ltd.,2022 ONSC 2147. This decision addressed the tension between a contractual arbitration clause versus the "single proceeding model" under a receivership.

The Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision that the single proceeding model associated with insolvency proceeding prevailed over arbitration (which we commented on in our blog post here).

Why This Case Matters

The Court of Appeal's decision confirmed that the single proceeding model is a core principle of insolvency law, and intended to act as a shield to protect debtors from having to defend claims in multiple proceedings and jurisdiction. This may include proceedings that may otherwise be subject to arbitration agreements.¹