13
CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
Q U I Z By Frank Walwyn, partner, Nadia Chiesa, associate, WeirFoulds LLP
GO TO CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM TO
WATCH A WEIRFOULDS LLP LAWYER TALK
ABOUT THIS QUIZ.
1
Your client lives in Ontario. She is a shareholder and director of Caribbean Energy LLC, an
offshore company incorporated in Nevis, which specializes in oil exploration. After Caribbean
Energy's subsidiary found signifi cant reserves in Belize and started making profi ts, the other
directors froze your client out of management. She has been locked out of Caribbean Energy's
Florida headquarters and has never received a dividend. She wants to bring an oppression
action against Caribbean Energy, and the other directors. Since the defendants live in Ontario,
she can sue here.
True
False
It depends
2
You are retained by a company that rents trucks and drilling equipment to Caribbean Energy,
which has breached the rental contract. Your client wants to fi nd out about the company, its
directors, and its assets before it spends any money on a claim. You can get this information
from the local registrar of companies.
True
False
It depends
3
Your client has commenced her claim against the Caribbean Energy directors in Nevis when
she learns that they recently bought a luxury yacht in Barbados. She suspects they are draining
funds out of the company before she can get a judgment against them. You tell her there are
several interim remedies available to protect the assets of the company pending a fi nal
resolution of the claim.
True
False
4
Your client gets a judgment against Caribbean Energy and the directors. One of the directors
owns property in Toronto. Your client can enforce the judgment from Nevis in Ontario.
True
False
It depends
Litigating in the
Caribbean: Smooth
sailing or heading into
the eye of the storm?
In the dead of Canadian winters, it's
not just snowbirds who escape to the
Caribbean. Incentives such as low or no
taxes, less robust fi nancial regulation,
and a high degree of privacy have long
attracted companies and individuals from
Canada and around the world to use
Caribbean offshore companies and trusts
to manage their assets. As a result, it's not
uncommon for Canadian cases to take
a tropical turn as clients get involved
in litigation in international or offshore
fi nancial centres in the Caribbean or have
to trace assets through the region. For
many lawyers, these may be uncharted
waters. So what do you need to know
before you dive in?
