SUPREME
COURT OF CANADA
Between:
Chevron
Corporation and Chevron Canada Limited
Appellants
and
Daniel
Carlos Lusitande Yaiguaje, Benancio Fredy Chimbo Grefa,
Miguel
Mario Payaguaje Payaguaje, Teodoro Gonzalo Piaguaje Payaguaje,
Simon
Lusitande Yaiguaje, Armando Wilmer Piaguaje Payaguaje,
Angel
Justino Piaguaje Lucitante, Javier Piaguaje Payaguaje, Fermin Piaguaje,
Luis
Agustin Payaguaje Piaguaje, Emilio Martin Lusitande Yaiguaje,
Reinaldo
Lusitande Yaiguaje, Maria Victoria Aguinda Salazar,
Carlos
Grefa Huatatoca, Catalina Antonia Aguinda Salazar,
Lidia
Alexandria Aguinda Aguinda, Clide Ramiro Aguinda Aguinda,
Luis
Armando Chimbo Yumbo, Beatriz Mercedes Grefa Tanguila,
Lucio
Enrique Grefa Tanguila, Patricio Wilson Aguinda Aguinda,
Patricio
Alberto Chimbo Yumbo, Segundo Angel Amanta Milan,
Francisco
Matias Alvarado Yumbo, Olga Gloria Grefa Cerda,
Narcisa
Aida Tanguila Narvaez, Bertha Antonia Yumbo Tanguila,
Gloria
Lucrecia Tanguila Grefa, Francisco Victor Tanguila Grefa,
Rosa
Teresa Chimbo Tanguila, Maria Clelia Reascos Revelo,
Heleodoro
Pataron Guaraca, Celia Irene Viveros Cusangua,
Lorenzo
Jose Alvarado Yumbo, Francisco Alvarado Yumbo,
Jose
Gabriel Revelo Llore, Luisa Delia Tanguila Narvaez,
Jose
Miguel Ipiales Chicaiza, Hugo Gerardo Camacho Naranjo,
Maria
Magdalena Rodriguez Barcenes, Elias Roberto Piyahuaje Payahuaje,
Lourdes
Beatriz Chimbo Tanguila, Octavio Ismael Cordova Huanca,
Maria
Hortencia Viveros Cusangua, Guillermo Vincente Payaguaje Lusitante,
Alfredo
Donaldo Payaguaje Payaguaje and Delfin Leonidas Payaguaje Payaguaje
Respondents
- and -
International
Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, MiningWatch
Canada, Canadian Centre for International Justice and
Justice
and Corporate Accountability Project
Interveners
Coram: McLachlin C.J. and Abella, Rothstein, Cromwell, Karakatsanis,
Wagner and Gascon JJ.
Reasons
for Judgment:
(paras. 1 to 96)
|
Gascon J. (McLachlin C.J. and Abella,
Rothstein, Cromwell, Karakatsanis and Wagner JJ. concurring)
|
Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje, 2015 SCC 42, [2015] 3 S.C.R.
69
Chevron Corporation and
Chevron Canada Limited Appellants
v.
Daniel
Carlos Lusitande Yaiguaje, Benancio Fredy Chimbo Grefa,
Miguel
Mario Payaguaje Payaguaje, Teodoro Gonzalo Piaguaje Payaguaje, Simon Lusitande
Yaiguaje, Armando Wilmer Piaguaje Payaguaje,
Angel
Justino Piaguaje Lucitante, Javier Piaguaje Payaguaje, Fermin Piaguaje, Luis
Agustin Payaguaje Piaguaje, Emilio Martin Lusitande Yaiguaje,
Reinaldo
Lusitande Yaiguaje, Maria Victoria Aguinda Salazar,
Carlos
Grefa Huatatoca, Catalina Antonia Aguinda Salazar,
Lidia
Alexandria Aguinda Aguinda, Clide Ramiro Aguinda Aguinda,
Luis
Armando Chimbo Yumbo, Beatriz Mercedes Grefa Tanguila,
Lucio
Enrique Grefa Tanguila, Patricio Wilson Aguinda Aguinda,
Patricio
Alberto Chimbo Yumbo, Segundo Angel Amanta Milan,
Francisco
Matias Alvarado Yumbo, Olga Gloria Grefa Cerda,
Narcisa
Aida Tanguila Narvaez, Bertha Antonia Yumbo Tanguila,
Gloria
Lucrecia Tanguila Grefa, Francisco Victor Tanguila Grefa,
Rosa
Teresa Chimbo Tanguila, Maria Clelia Reascos Revelo,
Heleodoro
Pataron Guaraca, Celia Irene Viveros Cusangua,
Lorenzo
Jose Alvarado Yumbo, Francisco Alvarado Yumbo,
Jose
Gabriel Revelo Llore, Luisa Delia Tanguila Narvaez,
Jose
Miguel Ipiales Chicaiza, Hugo Gerardo Camacho Naranjo,
Maria
Magdalena Rodriguez Barcenes, Elias Roberto Piyahuaje Payahuaje, Lourdes
Beatriz Chimbo Tanguila, Octavio Ismael Cordova Huanca,
Maria
Hortencia Viveros Cusangua, Guillermo Vincente Payaguaje Lusitante,
Alfredo
Donaldo Payaguaje Payaguaje and
Delfin Leonidas Payaguaje Payaguaje Respondents
and
International
Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto
Faculty
of Law, MiningWatch Canada,
Canadian
Centre for International Justice and
Justice and Corporate Accountability Project Interveners
Indexed as: Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje
2015 SCC 42
File No.: 35682.
2014: December 11; 2015: September 4.
Present: McLachlin C.J. and Abella, Rothstein, Cromwell,
Karakatsanis, Wagner and Gascon JJ.
on appeal from the court of appeal for ontario
Private
international law — Foreign judgments — Recognition — Enforcement — Foreign
judgment creditor sought recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment in
Ontario against U.S. foreign judgment debtor’s and Canadian seventh‑level
indirect subsidiary — Foreign judgment debtor served ex juris at U.S. head
office — Subsidiary served in juris at place of business in Ontario — Whether a
real and substantial connection must exist between defendant or dispute and
Ontario for jurisdiction to be established — Whether Ontario courts have
jurisdiction over foreign judgment debtor’s subsidiary when subsidiary is a
third party to the judgment for which recognition and enforcement is sought.
The
oil‑rich Lago Agrio region of Ecuador has long attracted the exploration
and extraction activities of global oil companies, including Texaco. As a
result of those activities, the region is said to have suffered extensive
environmental pollution that has disrupted the lives and jeopardized the
futures of its residents. For over 20 years, the
47 respondents/plaintiffs, who represent approximately 30,000 indigenous
Ecuadorian villagers, have been seeking legal accountability and financial and
environmental reparation for harms they allegedly suffered due to Texaco’s
former operations in the region. Texaco has since merged with Chevron, a U.S.
corporation. The Appellate Division of the Provincial Court of Justice of
Sucumbíos affirmed an Ecuadorian trial judge’s award of US$8.6 billion in
environmental damages and US$8.6 billion in punitive damages against Chevron.
Ecuador’s Court of Cassation upheld the judgment except on the issue of
punitive damages. In the end, the total amount owed was reduced to
US$9.51 billion.
Since
the initial judgment, Chevron has fought the plaintiffs in the U.S. courts and
has refused to acknowledge or pay the debt. As Chevron does not hold any
Ecuadorian assets, the plaintiffs commenced an action for recognition and
enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment in the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice. It served Chevron at its head office in California, and served Chevron
Canada, a seventh‑level indirect subsidiary of Chevron, first at an extra‑provincially
registered office in British Columbia, and then at its place of business in
Ontario. Inter alia, the plaintiffs sought the Canadian equivalent of
the award resulting from the judgment of the Appellate Division of the
Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos. Chevron and Chevron Canada each
sought orders setting aside service ex juris of the amended statement of
claim, declaring that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the action, and
dismissing or permanently staying the action.
The
motion judge ruled in the plaintiffs’ favour with respect to jurisdiction.
However, he exercised the court’s power to stay the proceeding on its own
initiative pursuant to s. 106 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act. The
Court of Appeal held this was not an appropriate case in which to impose a
discretionary stay under s. 106. On the jurisdictional issue, it held
that, as the foreign court had a real and substantial connection with the
subject matter of the dispute or with the defendant, an Ontario court has
jurisdiction to determine whether the foreign judgment should be recognized and
enforced in Ontario against Chevron. With respect to Chevron Canada, in view of
its bricks‑and‑mortar business in Ontario and its significant
relationship with Chevron, the Court of Appeal found that an Ontario court has
jurisdiction to adjudicate a recognition and enforcement action that also named
it as a defendant.
Held:
The appeal should be dismissed.
Canadian
courts, like many others, have adopted a generous and liberal approach to the
recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. To recognize and enforce such
a judgment, the only prerequisite is that the foreign court had a real and substantial
connection with the litigants or with the subject matter of the dispute, or
that the traditional bases of jurisdiction were satisfied. There is no need to
demonstrate a real and substantial connection between the dispute or the
defendant and the enforcing forum. In actions to recognize and enforce foreign
judgments within the limits of the province, it is the act of service on the
basis of a foreign judgment that grants an Ontario court jurisdiction over the
defendant. To conclude otherwise would undermine the important values of order
and fairness that underlie all conflicts rules, and would be inconsistent with
this Court’s statement that the doctrine of comity must be permitted to evolve
concomitantly with international business relations, cross‑border
transactions, and mobility.
This
Court has never required there to be a real and substantial connection between
the defendant or the action and the enforcing court for jurisdiction to exist
in recognition and enforcement proceedings. An unambiguous statement by this
Court that a real and substantial connection is not necessary will have the
benefit of providing a fixed, clear and predictable rule, allowing parties to
predict with reasonable confidence whether a court will assume jurisdiction in
a case with an international or interprovincial aspect and will help to avert
needless and wasteful jurisdictional inquiries.
Two
considerations of principle support the view that the real and substantial
connection test should not be extended to an enforcing court in an action for
recognition and enforcement. First, the crucial difference between an action at
first instance and an action for recognition and enforcement is that, in the
latter case, the only purpose of the action is to allow a pre‑existing
obligation to be fulfilled. As the enforcing court is not creating a new
substantive obligation, there can be no concern that the parties are situated
elsewhere, or that the facts underlying the dispute are properly addressed in
another court. The only important element is the foreign judgment and the legal
obligation it has created. Furthermore, enforcement is limited to measures that
can be taken only within the confines of the jurisdiction and in accordance
with its rules, and the enforcing court’s judgment has no coercive force
outside its jurisdiction. Similarly, enforcement is limited to seizable assets
found within its territory. As a result, any potential constitutional concerns
relating to conflict of laws simply do not arise in recognition and enforcement
cases: since the obligation created by a foreign judgment is universal, each
jurisdiction has an equal interest in the obligation resulting from the foreign
judgment, and no concern about territorial overreach could emerge.
Beyond
this, it must be remembered that the notion of comity has consistently been
found to underlie Canadian recognition and enforcement law. The need to
acknowledge and show respect for the legal action of other states has
consistently remained one of comity’s core components, and militates in favour
of recognition and enforcement. Legitimate judicial acts should be respected
and enforced, not sidetracked or ignored. The goal of modern conflicts systems
rests on the principle of comity, which calls for the promotion of order and fairness,
an attitude of respect and deference to other states, and a degree of stability
and predictability in order to facilitate reciprocity. This is true of all
areas of private international law, including the recognition and enforcement
of foreign judgments. In recognition and enforcement proceedings, order and
fairness are protected by ensuring that a real and substantial connection
existed between the foreign court and the underlying dispute. If such a
connection did not exist, or if the defendant was not present in or did not attorn
to the foreign jurisdiction, the resulting judgment will not be recognized and
enforced in Canada. No unfairness results to judgment debtors from having to
defend against recognition and enforcement proceedings — through their own
behaviour and legal noncompliance, they have made themselves the subject of
outstanding obligations, so they may be called upon to answer for their debts
in various jurisdictions. They are also provided with the opportunity to
convince the enforcing court that there is another reason why recognition and
enforcement should not be granted. Requiring a defendant to be present or to
have assets in the enforcing jurisdiction would only undermine order and
fairness: presence will frequently be absent given the very nature of the
proceeding at issue, and requiring assets in the enforcing jurisdiction when
recognition and enforcement proceedings are instituted would risk depriving
creditors of access to funds that might eventually enter the jurisdiction. In
today’s globalized world and electronic age, to require that a judgment
creditor wait until the foreign debtor is present or has assets in the province
before a court can find that it has jurisdiction in recognition and enforcement
proceedings would be to turn a blind eye to current economic reality.
Finding
that there is no requirement of a real and substantial connection between the
defendant or the action and the enforcing court in an action for recognition
and enforcement is also supported by the choices made by the Ontario
legislature, all other common law provinces and territories, Quebec, other
international common law jurisdictions and most Canadian conflict of laws
scholars.
In
this case, jurisdiction is established with respect to Chevron. It attorned to
the jurisdiction of the Ecuadorian courts, it was served ex juris at its
head office, and the amended statement of claim alleged that it was a foreign
debtor pursuant to a judgment of an Ecuadorian court. While this judgment has
since been varied by a higher court, this occurred after the amended statement
of claim had been filed; even if the total amount owed was reduced, the
judgment remains largely intact. The plaintiffs have sufficiently pleaded the
Ontario courts’ jurisdiction over Chevron.
The
question of whether jurisdiction exists over Chevron Canada should begin and
end with traditional, presence‑based jurisdiction. Where jurisdiction
stems from the defendant’s presence in the jurisdiction, there is no need to
consider whether a real and substantial connection exists. To establish
traditional, presence‑based jurisdiction over an out‑of‑province
corporate defendant, it must be shown that the defendant was carrying on
business in the forum at the time of the action. This is a question of fact:
the court must inquire into whether the company has some direct or indirect
presence in the state asserting jurisdiction, accompanied by a degree of
business activity which is sustained for a period of time. Here, the motion
judge’s factual findings have not been contested. They are sufficient to
establish presence‑based jurisdiction. Chevron Canada has a physical
office in Ontario, where it was served. Its business activities at this office
are sustained; it has representatives who provide services to customers in the
province. Canadian courts have found that jurisdiction exists in such
circumstances. The motion judge’s analysis was correct, and the Ontario Court
of Appeal had no need to go beyond these considerations to find jurisdiction.
The
establishment of jurisdiction does not mean that the plaintiffs will
necessarily succeed in having the Ecuadorian judgment recognized and enforced.
A finding of jurisdiction does nothing more than afford the plaintiffs the
opportunity to seek recognition and enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment.
Once past the jurisdictional stage, Chevron and Chevron Canada can use the
available procedural tools to try to dispose of the plaintiffs’ allegations.
This possibility is foreign to and remote from the questions that must be
resolved on this appeal. Further, the conclusion that the Ontario courts have
jurisdiction in this case should not be understood to prejudice future
arguments with respect to the distinct corporate personalities of Chevron and
Chevron Canada or whether Chevron Canada’s shares or assets will be available
to satisfy Chevron’s debt.
Cases Cited
Applied:
Morguard Investments Ltd. v. De Savoye, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 1077; Beals
v. Saldanha, 2003 SCC 72, [2003] 3 S.C.R. 416; distinguished: Club
Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17, [2012] 1 S.C.R. 572; referred
to: Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc., 303 F.3d 470 (2002); Chevron
Corp. v. Donziger, 768 F.Supp.2d 581 (2011); Chevron Corp. v.
Naranjo, 667 F.3d 232 (2012); Chevron Corp. v. Donziger, 974
F.Supp.2d 362 (2014); Pro Swing Inc. v. Elta Golf Inc., 2006 SCC 52,
[2006] 2 S.C.R. 612; Hunt v. T&N plc, [1993] 4 S.C.R. 289; Hilton
v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113 (1895); Spencer v. The Queen, [1985] 2 S.C.R.
278; Tolofson v. Jensen, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 1022; BNP Paribas (Canada)
v. Mécs (2002), 60 O.R. (3d) 205; Tasarruf Mevduati Sigorta Fonu v.
Demirel, [2007] EWCA Civ 799, [2007] 1 W.L.R. 2508; Yukos Capital
S.A.R.L. v. OAO Tomskneft VNK, [2014] IEHC 115; Lenchyshyn v. Pelko
Electric, Inc., 723 N.Y.S.2d 285 (2001); Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC
v. Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services Co., 986 N.Y.S.2d 454
(2014); Haaksman v. Diamond Offshore (Bermuda), Ltd., 260 S.W.3d 476
(2008); Pure Fishing, Inc. v. Silver Star Co., 202 F.Supp.2d 905 (2002);
Electrolines, Inc. v. Prudential Assurance Co., 677 N.W.2d 874 (2004); Base
Metal Trading, Ltd. v. OJSC “Novokuznetsky Aluminum Factory”, 283 F.3d 208
(2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 822 (2002); CSA8‑Garden Village LLC v.
Dewar, 2013 ONSC 6229, 369 D.L.R. (4th) 125; Canada Post Corp. v.
Lépine, 2009 SCC 16, [2009] 1 S.C.R. 549; Salomon v. Salomon & Co.,
[1897] A.C. 22; Ontario v. Rothman’s Inc., 2013 ONCA 353, 115 O.R. (3d)
561; Muscutt v. Courcelles (2002), 60 O.R. (3d) 20; Wilson v. Hull
(1995), 174 A.R. 81; Ingersoll Packing Co. v. New York Central and Hudson
River R.R. Co. (1918), 42 O.L.R. 330; Adams v. Cape Industries Plc.,
[1990] 1 Ch. 433; Incorporated Broadcasters Ltd. v. Canwest Global
Communications Corp. (2003), 63 O.R. (3d) 431; Prince v. ACE
Aviation Holdings Inc., 2013 ONSC 2906, 115 O.R. (3d) 721, aff’d 2014 ONCA
285, 120 O.R. (3d) 140; Abdula v. Canadian Solar Inc., 2011 ONSC 5105,
92 B.L.R. (4th) 324, aff’d 2012 ONCA 211, 110 O.R. (3d) 256; Charron v.
Banque provinciale du Canada, [1936] O.W.N. 315; Patterson v. EM Technologies,
Inc., 2013 ONSC 5849; BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, 2008 SCC
69, [2008] 3 S.C.R. 560.
Statutes and Regulations Cited
Canada Business Corporations Act, R.S.C.
1985, c. C‑44 .
Civil Code of Québec, art. 3155.
Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990,
c. C.43, s. 106.
International Commercial Arbitration Act,
R.S.O. 1990, c. I.9, Sch., arts. 35(1), 36(1).
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act,
R.S.O. 1990, c. R.5.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (U.K.) Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.6.
Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990,
Reg. 194, rr. 16.02(1)(c), 17.02, 20, 21.
Authors Cited
Black, Vaughan. “Enforcement of Judgments and Judicial Jurisdiction
in Canada” (1989), 9 Oxford J. Legal Stud. 547.
Black, Vaughan, Stephen G. A. Pitel and Michael Sobkin. Statutory
Jurisdiction: An Analysis of the Court Jurisdiction and Proceedings Transfer
Act. Toronto: Carswell, 2012.
Blom, Joost. “New Ground Rules for Jurisdictional Disputes: The Van
Breda Quartet” (2012), 53 Can. Bus. L.J. 1.
Brand, Ronald A. “Federal Judicial Center International
Litigation Guide: Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments” (2013), 74 U.
Pitt. L. Rev. 491.
Briggs, Adrian. The Conflict of Laws, 3rd ed. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2013.
Castel, J.‑G. Introduction to Conflict of Laws,
4th ed. Markham, Ont.: Butterworths, 2002.
Dicey and Morris on the Conflict of Laws,
vol. 1, 13th ed. Under the general editorship of Lawrence Collins. London:
Sweet & Maxwell, 2000.
Monestier, Tanya J. “A ‘Real and Substantial’ Mess: The Law of
Jurisdiction in Canada” (2007), 33 Queen’s L.J. 179.
Monestier, Tanya J. “Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of
Foreign Judgments” (2013), 42 Advocates’ Q. 107.
Monestier, Tanya J. “(Still) a ‘Real and Substantial’ Mess: The
Law of Jurisdiction in Canada” (2013), 36 Fordham Int’l L.J. 396.
Perell, Paul M., and John W. Morden. The Law of Civil
Procedure in Ontario, 2nd ed. Markham, Ont.: LexisNexis, 2014.
Pitel, Stephen G. A., and Cheryl D. Dusten. “Lost in
Transition: Answering the Questions Raised by the Supreme Court of Canada’s New
Approach to Jurisdiction” (2006), 85 Can. Bar Rev. 61.
Pitel, Stephen G. A., and Nicholas S. Rafferty. Conflict
of Laws. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2010.
Uniform Law Conference of Canada. Court
Jurisdiction and Proceedings Transfer Act (online:
http://www.ulcc.ca/en/uniform-acts-new-order/current-uniform-acts/
739-jurisdiction/civil-jurisdiction/1730-court-jurisdiction-proceedings-transfer-act).
Walker, Janet. Castel & Walker: Canadian Conflict of Laws,
6th ed. Markham, Ont.: LexisNexis, 2005 (loose‑leaf updated June 2015,
release 50).
Watson, Garry D., and Frank Au. “Constitutional Limits on
Service Ex Juris: Unanswered Questions from Morguard” (2000), 23 Advocates’
Q. 167.
APPEAL
from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal (MacPherson, Gillese and
Hourigan JJ.A.), 2013 ONCA 758, 118 O.R. (3d) 1, 313 O.A.C. 285, 370
D.L.R. (4th) 132, 52 C.P.C. (7th) 229, 15 B.L.R. (5th) 285, [2013] O.J.
No. 5719 (QL), 2013 CarswellOnt 17574 (WL Can.), setting aside a decision
of Brown J., 2013 ONSC 2527, 361 D.L.R. (4th) 489, 15 B.L.R. (5th) 226,
[2013] O.J. No. 1955 (QL), 2013 CarswellOnt 5729 (WL Can.). Appeal
dismissed.
Clarke
Hunter, Q.C., Anne Kirker, Q.C.,
and Robert Frank, for the appellant Chevron Corporation.
Benjamin
Zarnett, Suzy Kauffman and Peter Kolla,
for the appellant Chevron Canada Limited.
Alan J.
Lenczner, Q.C., Brendan F. Morrison
and Chris J. Hutchison, for the respondents.
Murray
Klippenstein, Renu Mandhane and
W. Cory Wanless, for the interveners the International Human Rights
Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, MiningWatch Canada and the
Canadian Centre for International Justice.
A. Dimitri
Lascaris and James Yap, for the intervener
the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project.
The
judgment of the Court was delivered by
Gascon J. —
I.
Overview
[1]
In a world in which businesses, assets, and
people cross borders with ease, courts are increasingly called upon to
recognize and enforce judgments from other jurisdictions. Sometimes,
successful recognition and enforcement in another forum is the only means by
which a foreign judgment creditor can obtain its due. Normally, a judgment
creditor will choose to commence recognition and enforcement proceedings in a
forum where the judgment debtor has assets. In this case, however, the Court
is asked to determine whether the Ontario courts have jurisdiction to recognize
and enforce an Ecuadorian judgment where the foreign judgment debtor, Chevron
Corporation (“Chevron”), claims to have no connection with the province,
whether through assets or otherwise. The Court is also asked to determine
whether the Ontario courts have jurisdiction over a Canadian subsidiary of
Chevron, Chevron Canada Limited (“Chevron Canada”), a stranger to the foreign
judgment for which recognition and enforcement is being sought.
[2]
The courts below found that jurisdiction existed
over Chevron. They held that the only connection that must be proven for
recognition and enforcement to proceed is one between the foreign court and the
original action on the merits; there is no preliminary need to prove a
connection with Ontario for jurisdiction to exist in recognition and
enforcement proceedings. They also found there to be an independent
jurisdictional basis for proceeding against Chevron Canada due to the place of
business it operates in the province, and at which it had been duly served.
[3]
I agree with the outcomes reached by the courts
below with respect to both Chevron and Chevron Canada and I would dismiss the
appeal. In an action to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment where the
foreign court validly assumed jurisdiction, there is no need to prove that a
real and substantial connection exists between the enforcing forum and either
the judgment debtor or the dispute. It makes little sense to compel such a
connection when, owing to the nature of the action itself, it will frequently
be lacking. Nor is it necessary, in order for the action to proceed, that the
foreign debtor contemporaneously possess assets in the enforcing forum.
Jurisdiction to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment within Ontario exists
by virtue of the debtor being served on the basis of the outstanding debt
resulting from the judgment. This is the case for Chevron. Jurisdiction also
exists here with respect to Chevron Canada because it was validly served at a
place of business it operates in the province. On the traditional
jurisdictional grounds, this is sufficient to find jurisdiction.
II.
Backgrounds and Facts
[4]
The dispute underlying the appeal originated in
the Lago Agrio region of Ecuador. The oil-rich area has long attracted the
exploration and extraction activities of global oil companies, including
Texaco, Inc. (“Texaco”). As a result of those activities, the region is said
to have suffered extensive environmental pollution that has, in turn, disrupted
the lives and jeopardized the futures of its residents. The 47 respondents (“plaintiffs”)
represent approximately 30,000 indigenous Ecuadorian villagers. For over 20
years, they have been seeking legal accountability as well as financial and
environmental reparation for harms they allegedly have suffered due to Texaco’s
former operations in the region. Texaco has since merged with Chevron.
[5]
In 1993, the plaintiffs filed suit against
Texaco in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New
York. In 2001, after lengthy interim proceedings, the District Court dismissed
their suit on the grounds of international comity and forum non conveniens.
The following year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
upheld that judgment, relying in part on a commitment by Texaco to submit to
the jurisdiction of the Ecuadorian courts should its motion to dismiss succeed:
Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc., 303 F.3d 470 (2d Cir. 2002).
[6]
In 2003, the plaintiffs filed suit against
Chevron in the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos. Several years of
litigation ensued. In 2011, Judge Zambrano ruled in the plaintiffs’ favour,
and ordered Chevron to pay US$8.6 billion in environmental damages, as well as US$8.6
billion in punitive damages that were to be awarded unless Chevron apologized
within 14 days of the judgment. As Chevron did not apologize, the punitive
damages award remained intact. In January 2012, the Appellate Division of the
Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos affirmed the trial judgment. In
November 2013, Ecuador’s Court of Cassation upheld the Appellate Division’s
judgment, except on the issue of punitive damages. In the end, the total
amount owed was reduced to US$9.51 billion.
[7]
Meanwhile, Chevron instituted further U.S.
proceedings against the plaintiffs’ American lawyer, Steven Donziger, and two
of his Ecuadorian clients, seeking equitable relief. Chevron alleged that Mr.
Donziger and his team had corrupted the Ecuadorian proceedings by, among other
things, ghost-writing the trial judgment and paying Judge Zambrano US$500,000
to release it as his own. In 2011, Judge Kaplan of the United States District
Court for the Southern District of New York granted preliminary relief in the form
of a global anti-enforcement injunction with respect to the Ecuadorian
judgment: Chevron Corp. v. Donziger, 768 F.Supp.2d 581 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned this
injunction in 2012, stressing that “[t]he [plaintiffs] hold a judgment from an
Ecuadorian court. They may seek to enforce that judgment in any country in the
world where Chevron has assets”: Chevron Corp. v. Naranjo, 667 F.3d 232
(2d Cir. 2012), at pp. 245-46. In 2014, Judge Kaplan of the District Court
held that the Ecuadorian judgment had resulted from fraud committed by Mr.
Donziger and others on the Ecuadorian courts: Chevron Corp. v. Donziger,
974 F.Supp.2d 362 (S.D.N.Y. 2014). That decision and the underlying allegations
of fraud are not before this Court.
[8]
Since the initial judgment, Chevron has refused
to acknowledge or pay the debt that the trial court said it owed, and it does
not hold any Ecuadorian assets. Faced with this situation, the plaintiffs have
turned to the Canadian courts for assistance in enforcing the Ecuadorian
judgment, and obtaining their financial due. On May 30, 2012, after the
Appellate Division’s decision but prior to the release of the 2013 judgment of
the Court of Cassation, they commenced an action for recognition and
enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron, Chevron Canada and
Chevron Canada Finance Limited in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The
action against the latter has since been discontinued.
[9]
Chevron, a U.S. corporation incorporated in
Delaware, was served at its head office in San Ramon, California. Chevron
Canada, a Canadian corporation governed by the Canada Business Corporations
Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-44 , with its head office in Alberta, is a
seventh-level indirect subsidiary of Chevron, which has 100 percent ownership
of every company in the chain between itself and Chevron Canada. The
plaintiffs initially served Chevron Canada with their amended statement of
claim at an extra-provincially registered office in British Columbia. Later,
they served the company at a place of business it operates in Mississauga,
Ontario.
[10]
In serving Chevron in San Ramon, the plaintiffs
relied upon rule 17.02(m) of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O.
1990, Reg. 194 (“Rules”), which provides that service may be effected outside
of Ontario without leave where the proceeding consists of a claim “on a
judgment of a court outside Ontario”. In serving Chevron Canada at its
Mississauga office, the plaintiffs relied upon rule 16.02(1)(c), which requires
that personal service be made on a corporation “by leaving a copy of the
document . . . with a person at any place of business of the corporation who
appears to be in control or management of the place of business”.
[11]
In their amended statement of claim, the
plaintiffs sought: (a) the Canadian equivalent of the award of
US$18,256,718,000 resulting from the 2012 judgment of the Appellate Division of
the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos; (b) the Canadian equivalent of
costs to be determined by the Ecuadorian court; (c) a declaration that the
shares of Chevron Canada are available to satisfy the judgment of the Ontario
court; (d) the appointment of an equitable receiver over the shares and assets
of Chevron Canada; (e) prejudgment interest from January 3, 2012; and (f) all
costs of the proceedings on a substantial indemnity basis, plus all applicable
taxes. In response, the appellants each brought a
motion in which they sought substantially the same relief: (1) an order setting
aside service ex juris of the amended statement of claim; and (2) an
order declaring that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the action, and
dismissing or permanently staying it.
III.
Judicial History
A.
Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial
List) (Brown J.), 2013 ONSC 2527, 361 D.L.R. (4th) 489
(1)
Order Setting Aside Service Ex Juris
[12]
The motion judge was asked to determine the
prerequisites for establishing that an Ontario court has jurisdiction in an
action to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment. Chevron contended that the
“real and substantial connection” test for establishing jurisdiction
articulated by this Court in Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, 2012
SCC 17, [2012] 1 S.C.R. 572, applies not only to the question whether a court
can assume jurisdiction over a dispute in order to decide its merits, but also
to whether an enforcing court has jurisdiction in an action to recognize and
enforce a foreign judgment. The plaintiffs replied that the “real and
substantial connection” test for jurisdiction does not apply to the enforcing
court. Rather, in an action for recognition and enforcement, it need only be
established that the foreign court had a real and substantial connection
with the dispute’s parties or with its subject matter. The motion judge ruled
in the plaintiffs’ favour, dismissing Chevron’s motion. He offered five reasons
for his conclusion.
[13]
First, in his view, this Court’s leading cases
on recognition and enforcement ― Morguard Investments Ltd. v. De
Savoye, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 1077, and Beals v. Saldanha, 2003 SCC 72,
[2003] 3 S.C.R. 416 ― contain no suggestion that a real and substantial
connection between the foreign judgment debtor and Ontario is needed. Second,
he found that there is nothing in Van Breda to suggest that it altered
the principles laid down in Morguard and Beals. Third, requiring
that rule 17.02(m) be read “within the (un-stated) context of the Ontario court
otherwise enjoying some real and substantial connection to the defendant would
render the sub-rule meaningless” because the Ontario court will, of course,
have no connection with the subject matter of the judgment, given that “it is a
foreign judgment which by its very nature has no connection with Ontario”:
para. 80. Nor will there be an in personam connection between the
defendant and Ontario, as “the sub-rule specifically contemplates that a non-Ontario
resident will be the defendant in the action”: ibid. Fourth, the judge
held that there may be legitimate reasons (for instance, the practical reality
that assets can exit a jurisdiction quickly) for seeking the recognition and
enforcement of a foreign judgment against a non-resident debtor who has no
assets in Ontario. To insist that the debtor have assets in the jurisdiction
before a judgment creditor can seek recognition and enforcement could harm the
creditor’s ability to recover the debt. Fifth, the motion judge considered two
analogous Ontario statutes ― the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments
(U.K.) Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.6, and the International Commercial
Arbitration Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.9 ― and found that neither of
these legislative schemes establishes a requirement that the defendant be
located or possess assets in Ontario before a creditor can register a foreign
judgment or arbitral award. In “an age of global commerce”, he added, it would
be misguided to have a more restrictive common law approach than a statutory
one: para. 82.
[14]
The motion judge also found that jurisdiction
existed over Chevron Canada, which had initially contended that because it was
not a judgment debtor, there was no basis upon which to serve it ex juris
in British Columbia. The judge observed, however, that the situation had
changed since Chevron Canada had brought its motion: the plaintiffs had served
the corporation at a “bricks and mortar” office it operates in Mississauga,
Ontario (para. 87). This constituted a “place of business” within the meaning
of rule 16.02(1)(c), and service at that location was sufficient to establish
jurisdiction.
(2)
Order of a Stay Under Section 106 of the Courts
of Justice Act
[15]
In spite of these conclusions, the motion judge
found that this was an appropriate case in which to exercise the court’s power
to stay a proceeding “on its own initiative” pursuant to s. 106 of the Courts
of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43. He so held for several reasons.
First, Chevron does not own, has never owned, and has no intention of owning
assets in Ontario. Second, Chevron conducts no business in Ontario. Third,
there is no basis for asserting that Chevron Canada’s assets are Chevron’s
assets for the purposes of satisfying the Ecuadorian judgment. Chevron does
not own Chevron Canada’s shares. Nor is there a legal basis for piercing
Chevron Canada’s corporate veil. In the judge’s view, even though “[i]mportant
considerations of international comity accompany any request for the
recognition of a judgment rendered by a foreign court . . . [t]he evidence [in
this case] disclosed that there is nothing in Ontario to fight over”, and thus
no reason to allow the claim to proceed any further: para. 111.
B.
Ontario Court of Appeal (MacPherson, Gillese and
Hourigan JJ.A.), 2013 ONCA 758, 118 O.R. (3d) 1
[16]
The plaintiffs appealed the stay entered by the
motion judge. Chevron and Chevron Canada cross-appealed his conclusion that
the Ontario courts have jurisdiction.
(1)
Entering of the Stay
[17]
To maintain consistency with their
jurisdictional challenge, Chevron and Chevron Canada made no submissions before
the Ontario Court of Appeal in support of the stay that had been granted. They
made no submissions on this point before this Court either. This issue is
therefore not before us.
[18]
In this regard, I would simply note that the
Court of Appeal rejected the view that this was an appropriate case in which to
impose a discretionary stay under s. 106 of the Courts of Justice Act.
MacPherson J.A., writing for the court, emphasized that Chevron and Chevron
Canada ― both “sophisticated parties with excellent legal representation”
― had decided not to attorn to the jurisdiction of the Ontario courts:
para. 45. They referenced s. 106 in their submissions only insofar as it potentially
supported a stay on the basis of lack of jurisdiction, not on the basis on
which it had ultimately been granted. The stay was entirely the initiative of
the motion judge. According to the Court of Appeal, a s. 106 stay should
only be granted in rare circumstances, and the bar to granting it should be
raised even higher when it is not requested by the parties. In fact, the
s. 106 stay in this case constituted a “disguised, unrequested and
premature Rule 20 and/or Rule 21 motion”: para. 57. In MacPherson J.A.’s view,
the motion judge had effectively imported a forum non conveniens motion
into his reasoning on the stay, even though no such motion had been before
him. The issues that the motion judge had addressed deserved to be fully
canvassed on the basis of a complete record and full legal argument.
[19]
I note as well that the Court of Appeal found
that although the motion judge’s analysis with respect to jurisdiction relied
on the notion of comity, he underplayed comity’s importance in the reasons he
gave in support of the stay. The Court of Appeal disagreed that allowing the
case to be heard on the merits would constitute a mere “academic exercise”:
para. 70. In its view, in light of Chevron’s considerable efforts to stall
proceedings up to that point, the plaintiffs “[did] not
deserve to have their entire case fail on the basis of an argument against
their position that was not even made, and to which they did not have an
opportunity to respond”: ibid. It found that while the plaintiffs may
not ultimately succeed on the merits, or in collecting from the judgment
debtor, this was not relevant to a determination of whether to grant a
discretionary stay at this stage of the proceedings. For the Court of Appeal,
“[t]his case crie[d] out for assistance, not unsolicited and premature
barriers”: para. 72.
(2)
Jurisdiction to Determine Whether the Ecuadorian
Judgment Should Be Recognized and Enforced
[20]
On the jurisdictional issue, the Court of Appeal
agreed with the motion judge’s analysis. It found this Court’s judgment in Beals
to be “crystal clear” about how the real and substantial connection test is
to be applied in an action for recognition and enforcement of a foreign
judgment: para. 29. The sole question is whether the foreign court properly
assumed jurisdiction, in the sense that it had a real and substantial
connection with the subject matter of the dispute or with the defendant. In
other words, there need not be an inquiry into the relationship between “the
legal dispute in the foreign country and the domestic Canadian court being
asked to recognize and enforce the foreign judgment”: para. 30.
[21]
MacPherson J.A. found that this Court’s decision
in Van Breda did not alter this analysis. In his view, Van Breda
applies to actions at first instance, not to actions for recognition and
enforcement. In a first instance case, “an Ontario court exceeds its
constitutional authority when it assumes jurisdiction of a case where there is
no real and substantial connection to Ontario”: para. 32. Assuming jurisdiction
in such a case “offends the principle of comity because one or more other
jurisdictions have a real and substantial connection to the subject matter of
the litigation and Ontario does not”: ibid. No constitutional issues or
comity concerns arise when merely recognizing and enforcing a foreign judgment,
“because the Ontario court does not purport to intrude on matters that are
properly within the jurisdiction of the foreign court”: para. 33. In the
result, MacPherson J.A. held that “it is clear that the Ecuadorian judgment for
US$9.51 billion against Chevron satisfied the requirement of rule 17.02(m)”:
para. 35. Thus, “an Ontario court has jurisdiction to determine whether the
Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron may be recognized and enforced in Ontario”:
ibid.
[22]
With respect to Chevron Canada, the Court of
Appeal held that the motion judge had been “correct to note Chevron Canada’s
bricks-and-mortar business in Ontario”: para. 38. In addition, the court found
that “Chevron Canada’s significant relationship with Chevron” was also relevant
to whether jurisdiction was legitimately found: ibid. An Ontario court
thus has jurisdiction to adjudicate a recognition and enforcement action
against Chevron that also names Chevron Canada as a defendant.
IV.
Issues
[23]
The appeal raises two issues:
(a) In an action to recognize and enforce a foreign
judgment, must there be a real and substantial connection between the defendant
or the dispute and Ontario for jurisdiction to be established?
(b) Do the Ontario courts have jurisdiction over
Chevron Canada, a third party to the judgment for which recognition and
enforcement is sought?
V.
Analysis
A.
Establishing Jurisdiction Over Foreign Debtors
in Actions to Recognize and Enforce Foreign Judgments
[24]
Chevron submits that before proceeding with an
action to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment, an Ontario enforcing court
must follow a two-step process. First, it must determine its own jurisdiction
by applying the real and substantial connection test articulated by this Court
in Van Breda. For Chevron, this test applies to actions to recognize
and enforce foreign judgments just as it does to actions at first instance.
Chevron suggests that one way ― and in many cases the only way ― in
which this first component can be satisfied is if the defendant has assets in
Ontario, or if there is a reasonable prospect of his or her having assets in
Ontario in the future. Second, if jurisdiction is found, then the enforcing
court should proceed to assess whether the foreign court appropriately assumed
jurisdiction. Chevron does not dispute that this second component is satisfied
here: a real and substantial connection undoubtedly existed between the subject
matter of the litigation, Chevron and the Ecuadorian court that rendered the
foreign judgment.
[25]
In support of its position, Chevron relies on a
passage from this Court’s decision in Pro Swing Inc. v. Elta Golf
Inc., 2006 SCC 52, [2006] 2 S.C.R. 612, at para. 28: “Under
the traditional rule [that only monetary judgments were enforceable], once
the jurisdiction of the enforcing court is established, the petitioner must
show that he or she meets the conditions for having the judgment recognized and
enforced” (Chevron’s factum, at para. 52 (emphasis added by Chevron)). It
contends that the requirement of a preliminary finding of jurisdiction did not
need to be addressed in the Court’s previous leading cases on recognition and
enforcement ― Morguard and Beals ― as in each of
those cases, the judgment debtor was resident in the province.
[26]
Chevron further argues that this position is
consistent with Van Breda. There, the Court emphasized that pursuant to
the Constitution, Canadian courts can only adjudicate disputes where doing so
constitutes a legitimate exercise of state power: para. 31. Chevron suggests
that in actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments, this constitutional
legitimacy must still exist. Ontario courts risk jurisdictional overreach if
they assume jurisdiction in cases like this one, in which the province has no
interest. Moreover, assuming jurisdiction in such a case risks undermining,
not furthering, the notion of comity. The rules for service ex juris
create mere presumptions of jurisdiction that are “rebuttable if there is no
real and substantial connection with the province”: Chevron’s factum, at para.
57.
[27]
I agree with the Ontario Court of Appeal and the
motion judge that the approach favoured by Chevron is sound neither in law nor
in policy. Canadian courts, like many others, have adopted a generous and
liberal approach to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. To
recognize and enforce such a judgment, the only prerequisite is that the
foreign court had a real and substantial connection with the litigants or with
the subject matter of the dispute, or that the traditional bases of
jurisdiction were satisfied. It is true that in any case in which a Canadian
court exercises authority over a party, some basis must exist for its doing
so. It does not follow, however, that jurisdiction is and can only be
established using the real and substantial connection test, whether that test
is satisfied by the existence of assets alone or on another basis. In actions
to recognize and enforce foreign judgments within the limits of the province,
it is the act of service on the basis of a foreign judgment that grants an
Ontario court jurisdiction over the defendant. I arrive at this conclusion for
several reasons. First, this Court has rightly never imposed a requirement to
prove a real and substantial connection between the defendant or the dispute
and the province in actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments. Second,
the distinct principles that underlie actions for recognition and enforcement
as opposed to actions at first instance support this position. Third, the
experiences of other jurisdictions, convincing academic commentary, and the
fact that comparable statutory provisions exist in provincial legislation
reinforce this approach. Finally, practical considerations militate against
adopting Chevron’s submission.
(1)
Jurisprudential Guidance Prior to Van Breda
[28]
Contrary to Chevron’s contention, this Court has
never required there to be a real and substantial connection between the
defendant or the action and the enforcing court for jurisdiction to exist in
recognition and enforcement proceedings.
[29]
This Court’s modern judgments on recognition and
enforcement begin with the 1990 decision in Morguard. There, the Court
expanded the traditionally limited bases upon which foreign judgments could be
recognized and enforced. Before Morguard, a foreign judgment would be
recognized and enforced only if the defendant in the original action had been
present in the foreign jurisdiction, or had consented to the court’s
jurisdiction: S. G. A. Pitel and N. S. Rafferty, Conflict of Laws
(2010), at p. 53; Morguard, at p. 1092. These traditional bases
for recognition and enforcement attracted criticism as being unduly
restrictive, particularly as between sister provinces: see, e.g., V. Black,
“Enforcement of Judgments and Judicial Jurisdiction in Canada” (1989), 9 Oxford
J. Legal Stud. 547.
[30]
In Morguard, La Forest J., writing
for the Court, held that the judgments of another province could and should
also be recognized and enforced where the other province’s court assumed
jurisdiction on the basis of a real and substantial connection between the
action and that province: pp. 1102 and 1108. In his view, the
traditional grounds for recognition and enforcement had been retained based on
a misguided notion of comity, unsuited to “the need in modern times to
facilitate the flow of wealth, skills and people across state lines in a fair
and orderly manner”: p. 1096. Moreover, the traditional recognition and
enforcement rules were tailored to circumstances that had existed at a time
when it would have been difficult for the defendant to defend “an action
initiated in a far corner of the world in the then state of travel and
communications”: p. 1097. The need to revisit the traditional rules was
particularly acute in a federal state like Canada, to which “considerations
underlying the rules of comity apply with much greater force”: p. 1098.
[31]
In arriving at his conclusions, La Forest J.’s
analysis focused entirely on whether the court of the other province or
territory had “properly, or appropriately, exercised jurisdiction in the
action”: p. 1102. He intimated no need to interrogate the enforcing
court’s jurisdiction, either in his discussion of the law or in its application
to the facts of the case. Instead, once a real and substantial connection
between the original court and the action is demonstrated, and it is clear that
the original court had jurisdiction, the resulting judgment “should be
recognized and be enforceable” in the other provinces: p. 1108.
[32]
This Court revisited the prerequisites to
recognition and enforcement in 2003 in Beals. It held that the real and
substantial connection test should also apply to the money judgments of other
countries’ courts. In reasons written by Major J., the majority of the Court
found that the principles of order, fairness, and comity that underlay the
decision in Morguard, while originally cast in the interprovincial
context, were equally compelling internationally: paras. 25-27. According to
Major J., “[i]nternational comity and the prevalence of international
cross-border transactions and movement call for a modernization of private international
law”: para. 28. Where a real and substantial connection existed between
the foreign court and the action’s subject matter or its defendants, the
foreign judgment should be recognized and enforced: para. 29.
[33]
Here again, the Court did not articulate or
imply a need to inquire into the enforcing court’s jurisdiction; the focus
remained squarely on the foreign jurisdiction. In Major J.’s view, the
following conditions must be met before a domestic court will enforce a
judgment from a foreign jurisdiction:
The enforcing court, in this
case Ontario, must determine whether the foreign court had a real and
substantial connection to the action or the parties, at least to the level
established in Morguard, supra. A real and substantial connection
is the overriding factor in the determination of jurisdiction. . . .
If
a foreign court did not properly take jurisdiction, its judgment will not be
enforced. . . .
. . .
Once
the “real and substantial connection” test is found to apply to a foreign
judgment, the court should then examine the scope of the defences available to
a domestic defendant in contesting the recognition of such a judgment.
(Beals,
at paras. 37-39)
[34]
Thus, in the recognition and enforcement
context, the real and substantial connection test operates simply to ensure
that the foreign court from which the judgment originated properly assumed
jurisdiction over the dispute. Once this is demonstrated, the defendant has an
opportunity to prove that one of the defences to recognition and enforcement
should apply. No mention is made of any need to prove a connection between the
enforcing jurisdiction and the action. In the end, the test articulated for
recognition and enforcement in Morguard and Beals is “seemingly
straightforward”: T. J. Monestier, “Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Foreign
Judgments” (2013), 42 Advocates’ Q. 107, at p. 110.
[35]
Three years later, in Pro Swing, the
Court once more extended the scope of Canadian recognition and enforcement law,
this time in relation to non-monetary foreign judgments. Traditionally, to be
recognizable and enforceable, a foreign judgment had to be “(a) for a debt, or
definite sum of money” and “(b) final and conclusive”: para. 10, quoting Dicey
and Morris on the Conflict of Laws (13th ed. 2000), vol. 1, Rule 35, at pp.
474-75. In Pro Swing, the Court held that non-monetary foreign
judgments should also be capable of being recognized and enforced in Canada.
In its view, “the conditions for recognition and enforcement can be expressed
generally as follows: the judgment must have been rendered by a court of
competent jurisdiction and must be final, and it must be of a nature that the
principle of comity requires the domestic court to enforce”: para. 31. Chevron
contends that it was in the course of this judgment that the Court clearly
expressed what had been implicit in Morguard and Beals: the need
to assess the Canadian forum’s jurisdiction before recognizing and enforcing
the foreign judgment. In this regard, Chevron points to para. 28 of the
majority’s reasons, where Deschamps J. wrote: “Under the traditional rule, once
the jurisdiction of the enforcing court is established, the petitioner must
show that he or she meets the conditions for having the judgment recognized and
enforced.”
[36]
I cannot accede to Chevron’s submission that
this phrase was intended to alter this Court’s clear guidance in Morguard and
Beals for two reasons. First, this Court’s insistence in Pro Swing
that jurisdiction must be established prior to determining whether the foreign
judgment should be recognized and enforced is hardly controversial:
jurisdiction must, of course, always be established regardless of the type of
action being brought. Otherwise, the court will lack the power to hear and
determine the case. Where Chevron’s submission fails, however, is in assuming
that the only way to establish jurisdiction is by proving the existence of a
real and substantial connection between the foreign judgment debtor and the
Canadian forum. In my view, jurisdiction in an action limited to recognition
and enforcement of a foreign judgment within the province of Ontario is
established when service is effected on a defendant against whom a foreign
judgment debt is alleged to exist. There is no requirement, nor need, to
resort to the real and substantial connection test.
[37]
Second, Deschamps J. clearly stated the
prerequisites to recognition and enforcement elsewhere in her reasons, and did
not insist or expand upon such a requirement. She wrote:
The
foreign judgment is evidence of a debt. All the enforcing court needs is proof
that the judgment was rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction and that it
is final, and proof of its amount. The enforcing court then lends its judicial
assistance to the foreign litigant by allowing him or her to use its
enforcement mechanisms.
(Pro
Swing, at para. 11)
This statement is
consistent with Morguard and Beals: there is no need to probe the
relationship between the enforcing forum and the action or the defendant.
Deschamps J.’s one prior, passing reference to the need for the enforcing court
to have jurisdiction cannot serve as a basis for inferring the existence of a
significant, and previously unstated, hurdle to recognition and enforcement
that simply does not exist. As is evident from her reasons, she retained the
focus on jurisdiction in the original foreign proceeding.
(2)
Effect of Van Breda
[38]
Chevron also places considerable reliance upon
this Court’s decision in Van Breda. In my view, this reliance is
misplaced. While
there is no denying that the Van Breda decision carries great importance
in many areas of Canadian conflict of laws, its intended scope should not be
overstated. Nothing in Van Breda altered the
jurisdictional inquiry in actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments as
established by this Court in Morguard, Beals and Pro Swing.
[39]
In Van Breda, LeBel J. clearly specified
the limited areas of private international law to which the decision was
intended to apply. First, he noted at para. 16 that three categories of issues
are “intertwined” in private international law: jurisdiction, forum non
conveniens and the recognition of foreign judgments. Although he
acknowledged that “[n]one of the divisions of private international law can be
safely analysed and applied in isolation from the others”, LeBel J. nonetheless
cautioned that “the central focus of these appeals is on jurisdiction and the
appropriate forum”, that is, only two of the three categories of issues at play
in private international law: para. 16. He went on to propose an analytical
framework and legal principles applicable to the assumption of jurisdiction
(one way of establishing jurisdiction simpliciter) and for deciding
whether to decline to exercise it (forum non conveniens). Nowhere did
he purport to analyze or modify the principles applicable to the recognition
and enforcement of foreign judgments, the area of private international law
that is the central focus of this appeal.
[40]
Second, LeBel J. further ― and repeatedly
― confined the principles he developed in Van Breda to the
assumption of jurisdiction in tort actions. For example, he said: “. . . this Court must
craft more precisely the rules and principles governing the assumption of
jurisdiction by the courts of a province over tort cases in which claimants sue
in Ontario, but at least some of the events that gave rise to the claims
occurred outside Canada or outside the province” (para. 68). He later added
the following: “Before I go on to consider a list of presumptive connecting
factors for tort cases, I must define the legal nature of the list” (para. 80). Perhaps most tellingly, LeBel J. stated, at para. 85:
“The list of presumptive connecting factors proposed here relates to claims in
tort and issues associated with such claims. It does not purport to be an
inventory of connecting factors covering the conditions for the assumption of
jurisdiction over all claims known to the law.”
[41]
To accept Chevron’s argument would be to extend Van
Breda into an area in which it was not intended to apply, and in which it
has no principled reason to meddle. In fact, and more compellingly, the
principles that animate recognition and enforcement indicate that Van Breda’s
pronouncements should not apply to recognition and enforcement cases. It is to
these principles that I will now turn.
(3)
Principles Underlying Actions for Recognition
and Enforcement
[42]
Two
considerations of principle support the view that the real and substantial
connection test should not be extended to an enforcing court in an action for
recognition and enforcement. First, the crucial difference between an action
at first instance and an action for recognition and enforcement is that, in the
latter case, the only purpose of the action is to allow a pre-existing
obligation to be fulfilled. Second, the notion of comity, which has
consistently underlain actions for recognition and enforcement, militates in
favour of generous enforcement rules.
(a)
Purpose of Recognition and Enforcement
Proceedings
[43]
Canadian law recognizes that the purpose of an
action to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment is to allow a pre-existing
obligation to be fulfilled; that is, to ensure that a debt already owed by the
defendant is paid. As Pitel and Rafferty explain, such an action “is based not
on the original claim the plaintiff had pursued against the defendant but
rather on the obligation created by the foreign judgment”: p. 159; see also P.
M. Perell and J. W. Morden, The Law of Civil Procedure in Ontario
(2nd ed. 2014), at ¶11.177. The following comment made by
McLachlin C.J. in Pro Swing (although in dissent) also reflects this
logic: “Barring exceptional concerns, a court’s focus when enforcing a foreign
judgment is not on the substantive and procedural law on which the judgment is
based, but instead on the obligation created by the judgment itself” (para. 77).
[44]
Important
consequences flow from this observation. First, the
purpose of an action for recognition and enforcement is not to evaluate the
underlying claim that gave rise to the original dispute, but rather to assist
in enforcing an already-adjudicated obligation. In other words, the enforcing court’s
role is not one of substance, but is instead one of facilitation: Pro Swing,
at para. 11. The court merely offers an enforcement mechanism to facilitate the
collection of a debt within the jurisdiction. This entails that the enforcing
court does not exercise jurisdiction in the same way as it does in actions at
first instance. In a first instance case like Van Breda, the
focus is on whether the court has jurisdiction to determine the merits of a
substantive legal claim; in a recognition and enforcement case, the court does
not create a new substantive obligation, but instead assists with the
fulfillment of an existing one.
[45]
It follows that there can be no concern that the
parties are located elsewhere, or that the facts underlying the dispute are
properly addressed in another court, factors that might serve to undermine the
existence of a real and substantial connection with the forum in first instance
adjudication. The defendant will, of course, not have a significant connection
with the forum, otherwise an independent jurisdictional basis would already
exist for proceeding against him or her. Moreover, the facts underlying the
original judgment are irrelevant, except insofar as they relate to potential
defences to enforcement. The only important element is the foreign judgment
itself, and the legal obligation it has created. Simply put, the logic for
mandating a connection with the enforcing jurisdiction finds no place.
[46]
Second,
enforcement is limited to measures ― like seizure, garnishment, or
execution ― that can be taken only within the confines of the
jurisdiction, and in accordance with its rules: Pro Swing, at para. 11;
J. Walker, Castel & Walker: Canadian Conflict of Laws (6th ed. (loose-leaf)), at p.
11-52. The
recognition and enforcement of a judgment therefore has a limited impact: as
Walker states, “[a]n order enforcing a foreign judgment
applies only to local assets” (p. 14-11). The enforcing court’s judgment has
no coercive force outside its jurisdiction. Whether recognition and
enforcement should proceed depends entirely on the enforcing forum’s laws. The
dispute does not contain a foreign element that would make resort to the real
and substantial connection test necessary. Walker adds that, as a result,
since enforcement concerns only local assets, “there is no basis for staying
the proceedings on the grounds that the forum is inappropriate or that the
judgment debtor’s principal assets are elsewhere”: ibid.
[47]
Third, and flowing from this reality, any
potential constitutional concerns that might sometimes emerge in conflict of
laws cases simply do not arise in recognition and enforcement proceedings. In Morguard,
the Court elaborated a conflict of laws rule and also hinted, without deciding,
that the test might have constitutional foundations: pp. 1109-10. In Hunt v. T&N plc, [1993] 4 S.C.R. 289, the Court confirmed that Morguard had created a constitutional
principle that was applicable to the assumption of jurisdiction. LeBel J.
later reaffirmed and clarified this in Van Breda, where he noted that
the real and substantial connection test has a dual nature: first, it serves as
a constitutional principle; second, it constitutes a conflict of laws rule (paras.
22-24). He stated that “in Canadian constitutional law, the real and
substantial connection test has given expression to the constitutionally
imposed territorial limits that underlie the requirement of legitimacy in the
exercise of the state’s power of adjudication”; he added that the test
“suggests that the connection between a state and a dispute cannot be weak or
hypothetical”, as such a connection “would cast doubt upon the legitimacy of
the exercise of state power over the persons affected by the dispute”: para.
32.
[48]
No concern about the legitimacy of the exercise
of state power exists in actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments
against judgment debtors. As I have explained, when such an action comes
before a Canadian court, the court is not assuming jurisdiction over the
parties in the same way as would occur in a first instance case. The enforcing
court has no interest in adjudicating the original rights of the parties.
Rather, the court merely seeks to assist in the enforcement of what has already
been decided in another forum. As Deschamps J. aptly stated in Pro Swing,
“[t]he enforcing court . . . lends its judicial assistance to the foreign
litigant by allowing him or her to use its enforcement mechanisms”: para. 11.
The manner in which the court exercises control over the parties is thus
different ― and far less invasive ― than in an action at first
instance.
[49]
In most recognition and enforcement proceedings,
the only factor that draws a foreign judgment creditor to the province is the
potential for assets upon which to ultimately enforce the judgment.
Enforcement is limited to the seizable assets found within the province. No
constitutional concern about the legitimacy of this exercise of jurisdiction
emerges. I acknowledge that, under provincial legislation, a recognition and
enforcement judgment issued in one province may be capable of being
“registered” in another province, thus offering some advantage to plaintiffs
who have already successfully obtained a recognition and enforcement judgment.
Nevertheless, the existence of such legislation does not alter the basic fact
that absent some obligation to enforce another forum’s judgments, the judicial
system of each province controls access to its jurisdiction’s enforcement
mechanisms, whenever a foreign judgment creditor seeks to seize assets within
its territory in satisfaction of a foreign judgment debt.
[50]
In addition, the obligation created by a foreign
judgment is universal; there is no competing claim to jurisdiction with respect
to it. If each jurisdiction has an equal interest in the obligation resulting
from a foreign judgment, it is hard to see how any concern about territorial
overreach could emerge. Simply put, there can be no concern about
jurisdictional overreach if no jurisdiction can reach further into the matter
than any other. The purposes that underlie recognition and
enforcement proceedings simply do not require proof of a real and
substantial connection between the dispute and Ontario, whether for
constitutional reasons or otherwise.
(b) The Notion of
Comity in Recognition and Enforcement Proceedings
[51]
Beyond this, it must be remembered that the notion of comity has consistently been found to underlie Canadian
recognition and enforcement law. In Morguard, this Court stated that comity refers
to “the deference and respect due by other states to the actions of a state
legitimately taken within its territory”, as well as “the recognition which one
nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts
of another nation, having due regard both to international duty and
convenience, and to the rights of its own citizens or of other persons who are
under the protection of its laws”: pp. 1095-96, quoting with approval the U.S.
Supreme Court’s foundational articulation of the concept of comity in Hilton
v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113 (1895), at pp. 163-64; see
also Spencer
v. The Queen, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 278, at p. 283, per Estey J., concurring.
[52]
The
Court’s formulation of the notion of comity in Morguard was quoted with
approval in Beals: para. 20. In Hunt, the Court observed that
“ideas of ‘comity’ are not an end in themselves, but are grounded in notions of
order and fairness to participants in litigation with connections to multiple
jurisdictions”: p. 325. In Tolofson v. Jensen, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 1022,
the Court again referred to the notion of comity, stating that it entails
respect for the authority of each state “to make and apply law within its
territorial limit”, and that “to accommodate the movement of people, wealth and
skills across state lines, a byproduct of modern civilization, [states] will in
great measure recognize the determination of legal issues in other states”: p.
1047. In Pro Swing, the Court described comity as a “balancing
exercise” between “respect for a nation’s acts, international duty, convenience
and protection of a nation’s citizens”: para. 27. Finally, in Van Breda,
LeBel J. emphasized that the goal of modern conflicts systems rests on the
principle of comity, which, although a flexible concept, calls for the
promotion of order and fairness, an attitude of respect and deference to other
states, and a degree of stability and predictability in order to facilitate
reciprocity: para. 74. This is true of all areas of private international law,
including that of the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
[53]
As
this review of the Court’s statements on comity shows, the need to acknowledge
and show respect for the legal acts of other states has consistently remained
one of the principle’s core components. Comity, in this regard, militates in
favour of recognition and enforcement. Legitimate judicial acts should be
respected and enforced, not sidetracked or ignored. The concepts of order and
fairness in which comity is grounded are not affronted by rejecting Chevron’s
proposed extension of the real and substantial connection test. This is so for
several reasons.
[54]
First,
in recognition and enforcement proceedings, order and fairness are protected by
ensuring that a real and substantial connection existed between the foreign
court and the underlying dispute. If such a connection did not exist, or if
the defendant was not present in or did not attorn to the foreign jurisdiction,
the resulting judgment will not be recognized and enforced in Canada. The
judgment debtor is free to make this argument in the recognition and
enforcement proceedings, and indeed will have already had the opportunity to
contest the jurisdiction of the foreign court in the foreign proceedings. Here, for instance, it is accepted that Chevron attorned to the jurisdiction of
the Ecuadorian courts. As Walker writes, “[t]he
jurisdictional requirements of order and fairness considered in the context of direct
jurisdiction operate to promote the international acceptance of the
adjudication of a matter by a Canadian court”: p. 14-1 (emphasis in original).
There is no similar requirement of international acceptance in the context of
the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment.
[55]
Second,
no unfairness results to judgment debtors from having
to defend against recognition and enforcement proceedings. In essence, through
their own behaviour and legal noncompliance, the debtors have made themselves
the subject of outstanding obligations. It is for this reason that they may be
called upon to answer for their debts in various jurisdictions. Of course, the
principles of order and fairness are also protected by providing a foreign judgment
debtor with the opportunity to convince the enforcing court that there is
another reason why recognition and enforcement should not be granted: see Beals,
at paras. 39 et seq.
[56]
Third,
contrary to Chevron’s argument, a requirement that the defendant have a real
and substantial connection with the enforcing court in the sense of being present
or having assets in the province would only undermine order and fairness. In
recognition and enforcement proceedings, besides an unlikely attornment by the
defendant, the only way a real and substantial connection with the enforcing
forum could be achieved, in the end, is through presence or assets in the
jurisdiction. However, presence will frequently be absent given the very
nature of the proceeding at issue. Indeed, rule 17.02(m) is implicitly based
on an expectation that the defendant in a claim on a judgment of a court
outside Ontario will not be present in the province. Requiring assets to be
present in the jurisdiction when recognition and enforcement proceedings are
instituted is also not conducive to order or fairness. For one thing, assets
such as receivables or bank deposits may be in one jurisdiction one day, and in
another the next. If jurisdiction over recognition and enforcement proceedings
were dependent upon the presence of assets at the time of the proceedings, this
may ultimately prove to only benefit those debtors whose goal is to escape
rather than answer for their liabilities, while risking
depriving creditors of access to funds that might eventually enter the
jurisdiction.
[57]
In today’s globalized world and
electronic age, to require that a judgment creditor wait until the foreign
debtor is present or has assets in the province before a court can find that it
has jurisdiction in recognition and enforcement proceedings would be to turn a
blind eye to current economic reality. The motion judge
rightly opined as follows on this subject:
In an age of electronic international
banking, funds once in the hands of a judgment debtor can quickly leave a
jurisdiction. While it is highly unlikely that a judgment debtor would move
assets into a jurisdiction in the face of a pending recognition action, in some
circumstances judgment debtors may not control the timing or location of the
receipt of an asset due to them; control may rest in the hands of a third party
as a result of contract or otherwise. Where a judgment creditor under a foreign
judgment learns that its judgment debtor may come into possession of an asset
in the foreseeable future, it might want the recognition of its foreign judgment
in advance of that event so that it could invoke some of the enforcement
mechanisms of the receiving jurisdiction, such as garnishment. To insist that
the judgment creditor under a foreign judgment await the arrival of the
judgment debtor’s asset in the jurisdiction before seeking recognition and
enforcement could well prejudice the ability of the judgment creditor to
recover on its judgment. Given the wide variety of circumstances - including
timing - in which a judgment debtor might come into possession of an asset, I
do not think it prudent to lay down a hard and fast rule that assets of the
judgment debtor must exist in the receiving jurisdiction as a pre-condition to
the receiving jurisdiction entertaining a recognition and enforcement action.
[para. 81]
I note that in one
Ontario lower court decision, albeit in the context of forum non conveniens,
the existence of assets has been held to be irrelevant to the jurisdictional
inquiry: see BNP Paribas (Canada) v. Mécs (2002), 60 O.R.
(3d) 205 (S.C.J.).
[58]
In this regard, I find persuasive value in the fact that other
common law jurisdictions ― presumably equally concerned about order and
fairness as our own ― have also found that the presence of assets in the
enforcing jurisdiction is not a prerequisite to the recognition and enforcement
of a foreign judgment.
[59]
In Tasarruf Mevduati Sigorta Fonu v. Demirel¸ [2007] EWCA
Civ 799, [2007] 1 W.L.R. 2508, for example, the England and Wales Court of
Appeal (Civil Division) held that “a claimant seeking to enforce
a foreign judgment by action does not have to show that there are assets in the
jurisdiction. To require him to do so would be tantamount to construing the
rule as if it were limited in that way”: para. 29. The court also held that to
be granted permission to serve ex juris (permission that is needed under
the applicable English procedural rules), the claimant is required to show
“that he has a good arguable case in the action, that is that he has a good
arguable case that judgment should be given based upon the foreign judgment”: ibid.
The court continued, holding that the claimant must “ordinarily show further
that he can reasonably expect a benefit from such a judgment”: ibid.
However, on the facts of the case, it held that service ex juris should be
permitted where the defendant did not possess assets in England at the time,
but had a “reasonable possibility” of having assets in London “one of these
days”: para. 40.
[60]
The High Court of Ireland followed a similar
approach in Yukos Capital S.A.R.L. v. OAO Tomskneft VNK, [2014] IEHC
115, in an arbitration context, holding that “the presence of assets within the
jurisdiction is not a pre-requisite for the granting of leave to serve out of
the jurisdiction on an application to enforce a Convention Award”: para. 112
(BAILII). Although the court quoted with approval the passages from Tasarruf
to the effect that the applicant must demonstrate that some potential benefit
would accrue should the recognition and enforcement action succeed, it
nevertheless accepted, with no hesitation, that “the seeking of recognition and
enforcement of an award in a country where the losing party may have no assets
in order to obtain the imprimatur of a respected court upon the award is
acceptable”: para. 128.
[61]
The U.S. courts appear to be divided on the
prerequisites to recognition and enforcement: see R. A. Brand, “Federal
Judicial Center International Litigation Guide: Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Judgments” (2013), 74 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 491. Some, as exemplified
by the decision in Lenchyshyn v. Pelko Electric, Inc., 723 N.Y.S.2d 285
(App. Div. 2001), take a broad approach. In Lenchyshyn, the Supreme
Court of New York, Appellate Division, held that personal jurisdiction need not
be established over judgment debtors for recognition and enforcement to
proceed. In the court’s view, “[r]equiring that the judgment debtor have a
‘presence’ in or some other jurisdictional nexus to the state of enforcement
would unduly protect a judgment debtor and enable him easily to escape his just
obligations under a foreign country money judgment” (p. 292); moreover, no
constitutional obligation exists to satisfy such a requirement (p. 289). The
court concluded that “even if defendants do not presently have assets in New
York, plaintiffs nevertheless should be granted recognition of the foreign
country money judgment . . . and thereby should have the opportunity
to pursue all such enforcement steps in futuro, whenever it might appear
that defendants are maintaining assets in New York”: p. 291. The same court
recently reiterated the Lenchyshyn approach in Abu Dhabi Commercial
Bank PJSC v. Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services Co., 986
N.Y.S.2d 454 (App. Div. 2014). Other state and district courts have also
adopted its reasoning: Haaksman v. Diamond Offshore (Bermuda), Ltd., 260
S.W.3d 476 (Tex. App. 2008); Pure Fishing, Inc. v. Silver Star Co., 202
F.Supp.2d 905 (N.D. Iowa 2002).
[62]
As the motion judge below correctly pointed out,
some U.S. courts have taken a different approach. For instance, the Michigan
Court of Appeals stated the following in Electrolines, Inc. v. Prudential
Assurance Co., 677 N.W.2d 874 (2004):
We
hold that where plaintiff failed to identify any property owned by defendants
in Michigan, the trial court erred in holding that it was unnecessary for
plaintiff to demonstrate that the Michigan court had personal jurisdiction over
defendants in this common-law enforcement action.
. . .
We
have not found any authorities indicating that the foundational requirement of
demonstrating a trial court’s jurisdiction over a person or property is
inapplicable in enforcement proceedings. [pp. 880 and 884]
Other U.S. courts have adopted an
even more extreme position, holding that “attachment of assets of the judgment
debtor within the state is not sufficient to provide jurisdiction, and that
personal jurisdiction over the judgment debtor is necessary”: Brand, at
p. 506, citing Base Metal Trading, Ltd. v. OJSC “Novokuznetsky Aluminum
Factory”, 283 F.3d 208 (4th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 822
(2002).
[63]
As this review of the case law indicates, many
courts in common law jurisdictions have been hesitant to make the presence of
assets a prerequisite to jurisdiction in recognition and enforcement
proceedings. While it is true that some have nonetheless seen fit to limit the
existence of jurisdiction in other ways (notably, by requiring that judgment
creditors prove that a benefit will result from successful recognition and
enforcement proceedings), they have done so in the context of different
procedural rules and distinct constitutional considerations.
[64]
Turning to the works of Canadian conflict of
laws scholars, most support the view that requiring a real and substantial
connection through the defendant being present or having assets in the province
is not necessary for the purposes of a recognition and enforcement action. Walker, for instance, writes:
The security
of crossborder transactions rests on the confidence that the law will enable
the prompt and effective determination of the effect of judgments from other
legal systems. For this reason, there are no separate or additional
jurisdictional requirements, such as the residence of the defendant or the
presence of the defendant’s assets in the jurisdiction, for a court to
determine whether a foreign judgment may be recognized or enforced.
[Emphasis added; p. 14-1.]
[65]
Perell and Morden express a similar view:
Subject to the defences, a Canadian
court will enforce a foreign judgment if the foreign court or foreign
jurisdiction had a “real and substantial connection” to the dispute. However,
it is not necessary for the plaintiffs to establish that Ontario has a real and
substantial connection with the litigation; it is sufficient to show that the
foreign court that gave the judgment had a real and substantial connection with
the matter. [Footnotes omitted; ¶11.181.]
[66]
Pitel and Rafferty take a somewhat different
position in the following passage:
Because an
action on the foreign judgment is a new legal proceeding, issues of
jurisdiction . . . must be considered at the outset. If the defendant is
resident in the country in which recognition and enforcement is sought, it will
be easy to establish jurisdiction. But in many cases the defendant will not be
resident there: he or she will only have assets there, which the plaintiff is
going after to enforce the judgment. Typically the presence of assets in a
province is an insufficient basis for taking jurisdiction over a foreign
defendant. But most provinces have made specific provision to allow for service
ex juris in such cases. For example, in Ontario service outside the
province can be made as of right where the claim is “on a judgment of a court
outside Ontario.” . . . [T]he plaintiff would still need to show a real and
substantial connection to the province in which enforcement was sought. Under
this test, the presence of assets may be insufficient to ground substantive
proceedings but they should virtually always be sufficient to ground
proceedings for recognition and enforcement. [Footnote omitted; pp. 159-60.]
[67]
This statement, however, has been criticized by
at least one lower court judge who “decline[d] to follow that theory for the
following reasons: (1) they cite no authority for the theory that they advance
(neither case law nor academic commentary); and (2) the preponderance of
precedent is to the contrary”: CSA8-Garden Village LLC v. Dewar, 2013
ONSC 6229, 369 D.L.R. (4th) 125, at para. 43. I am inclined to agree with this
criticism. Pitel and Rafferty’s statement does not accord with the principles
discussed above that underlie actions for the recognition and enforcement of foreign
judgments.
[68]
In my view, there is nothing improper in allowing foreign
judgment creditors to choose where they wish to enforce their judgments and to
assess where, in all likelihood, their debtors’ assets could be found or may
end up being located one day. In this regard, it is the
existence of clear, liberal and simple rules for the recognition and
enforcement of foreign judgments that facilitates the flow of wealth, skills
and people across borders in a fair and orderly manner: Walker, at p. 14-1.
Requiring a real and substantial connection through the presence of assets in
the enforcing jurisdiction would serve only to hinder these considerations,
which are important for commercial dealings in an increasingly globalized
economy. It is true that the absence of assets upon which to enforce a foreign
judgment may, in some situations, have an impact on the legitimate use of the
judicial resources of an enforcing court, and in turn on the court’s exercise
of its discretionary power to stay the proceeding. The absence of assets may
also influence the appropriateness of the choice of a given forum for the
enforcement proceedings. These issues do not relate, however, to the existence
of jurisdiction, but to its exercise; as this Court emphasized in Van Breda,
“a clear distinction must be drawn between the existence and the exercise of
jurisdiction”: para. 101.
[69]
Facilitating comity and reciprocity, two of the
backbones of private international law, calls for assistance, not barriers.
Neither this Court’s jurisprudence nor the principles underlying recognition
and enforcement actions requires imposing additional jurisdictional
restrictions on the determination of whether a foreign judgment is binding and
enforceable in Ontario. The principle of comity does not require that
Chevron’s submissions be adopted. On the contrary, an unambiguous
statement by this Court that a real and substantial connection is not necessary
will have the benefit of providing a “fixed, clear and predictable” rule, which
some say is necessary in this area: T. J. Monestier, “A ‘Real and Substantial’
Mess: The Law of Jurisdiction in Canada” (2007), 33 Queen’s L.J. 179, at
p. 192. Such a rule will clearly be consistent with the dictates of order and
fairness; it will also allow parties “to predict with reasonable confidence
whether a court will assume jurisdiction in a case with an international or
interprovincial aspect”, as LeBel J. in Van Breda insisted they should
be able to do: para. 73. Moreover, a clear rule will help to avert needless
and wasteful jurisdictional inquiries that merely thwart the proceedings from
their eventual resumption. As some have noted, our courts “should exercise
care in interpreting rules and developing legal principles so as not to
encourage unnecessary motions”, since “[i]n many cases, the defendant’s challenge
to service ex juris is just another dilatory tactic that provincial
rules of civil procedure have sought to avoid”: G. D. Watson and F. Au,
“Constitutional Limits on Service Ex Juris: Unanswered Questions from Morguard”
(2000), 23 Advocates’ Q. 167, at p. 205. To accept Chevron’s
submissions would be to ignore this wise counsel.
(4)
Relevant Legislation
[70]
Finally, the choices made by the Ontario
legislature provide an additional useful perspective, one that reinforces the
validity of the approach favoured by this Court’s jurisprudence and the
principles discussed above. Two points are of note. First, the Rules do not
require that the court probe the relationship between the dispute and the
province, whether by inquiring into the existence of assets or otherwise. Rule
17.02 establishes the bases upon which a party can serve an adversary with an
originating process or notice of a reference outside Ontario without needing to
seek leave of the court to do so. Rule 17.02(m) provides that one basis for
service exists where the claim is “on a judgment of a court outside Ontario”,
which, naturally, contemplates recognition and enforcement proceedings. While
the Rules do not in and of themselves confer jurisdiction (see Perell and
Morden, at ¶2.306), they nevertheless “represent an
expression of wisdom and experience drawn from the life of the law” (Van
Breda, at para. 83) and offer useful guidance with respect to the
intentions of the Ontario legislators. That the legislators have not seen fit
to craft specific jurisdictional rules respecting foreign judgments is
indicative of their intention to have the Rules alone govern, and therefore to
maintain the existence of broad jurisdictional bases in actions for recognition
and enforcement.
[71]
Second, analogous provisions found in other
Ontario statutes do not impose an obligation on the plaintiff to establish that
the defendant has assets in the province or some other conceivable connection
with the forum. For example, the Ontario International Commercial
Arbitration Act, which permits registration of foreign arbitral awards,
does not require that the debtor be present or have assets in Ontario. Article
35(1) of the Schedule to that Act provides that “[a]n arbitral award
. . . shall be recognized as binding and, upon application in writing
to the competent court, shall be enforced subject to the provisions of this
article and of article 36.” Article 36(1) lists various grounds for refusing
recognition or enforcement of such awards. None of those grounds is based upon
the absence of a real and substantial connection between either the underlying
dispute or the defendant and Ontario, or upon an absence of assets. Similarly,
the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (U.K.) Act, which facilitates
the recognition and enforcement of judgments from the United Kingdom, does not
permit a debtor to escape enforcement by demonstrating that no real and
substantial connection exists between the debtor or the dispute and the forum.
Finally, the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.
R.5, which supplies an expedited mechanism for registering and enforcing the
judgments of the other Canadian provinces and territories, contains no such
requirement either.
[72]
I note that all the common law provinces and
territories have statutes providing for the recognition and enforcement of
foreign arbitral awards or of judgments from the United Kingdom. They also
have similar statutes providing for the expedited registration or recognition
of judgments from specified jurisdictions. In Quebec, it is art. 3155 of the Civil
Code of Québec that provides for the recognition and enforcement of foreign
decisions. It notably does not require a connection between the foreign debtor
and the province. In Canada Post Corp. v. Lépine, 2009 SCC 16,
[2009] 1 S.C.R. 549, this Court found that “the basic principle laid down in
art. 3155 . . . is that any decision rendered by a foreign authority
must be recognized unless an exception applies”: para. 22. The Court
acknowledged that the enumerated exceptions are “limited”: ibid. I note
that none of them concerns a jurisdictional hurdle in the enforcing state.
This shows that the Quebec legislature did not intend a connection between the
foreign debtor and the province to be a prerequisite to recognition and
enforcement.
[73]
I acknowledge that the Uniform Law Conference of
Canada took a different approach in drafting the Court Jurisdiction and
Proceedings Transfer Act (“CJPTA”) (online) in the 1990s. The CJPTA has
been passed, with some variations, in five jurisdictions (Saskatchewan, Prince
Edward Island, Yukon, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia), though it has only
come into force in three of them. Section 3(e) of the CJPTA provides that one
circumstance in which a court has territorial competence in a proceeding is if
“there is a real and substantial connection between [enacting province or
territory] and the facts on which the proceeding against that person is
based” (emphasis in original; text in brackets in original). Section 10 states
that a real and substantial connection “is presumed to exist if the proceeding
. . . (k) is for enforcement of a judgment of a court made in or
outside [enacting province or territory] or an arbitral award made in or
outside [enacting province or territory]” (emphasis in original; text in
brackets in original). Thus, the foreign judgment creates a rebuttable
presumption of jurisdiction, which the judgment debtor can contest. Yet, in
spite of this possibility, V. Black, S. G. A. Pitel and M. Sobkin point out
that, as of 2012, “no defendant [had] succeeded in rebutting a s. 10
presumption” in the provinces in which the CJPTA was in force at that time: Statutory
Jurisdiction: An Analysis of the Court Jurisdiction and Proceedings Transfer
Act (2012), at pp. 146-47. As this Court observed in Van Breda,
“[l]egislatures and courts may adopt various solutions to meet the
constitutional requirements and the objectives of efficiency and fairness that
underlie our private international law system”: para. 34. The legislatures are
therefore free to adopt legislation like the CJPTA that departs from the common
law, so long as they do so within constitutional limits. Ontario, however,
has not done so.
[74]
As a result, to find in this case that there is
no requirement of a real and substantial connection between the forum and the
dispute in an action for recognition and enforcement would neither pervert the
Ontario legislators’ intentions, nor risk some other unforeseen outcome.
Instead, such a finding would be respectful of the legislative choices already
made by the province, while leaving open legal space in which it is free to
develop its own conflict of laws rules, if it so chooses. This decision
is limited to common law recognition and enforcement principles.
(5)
Summary
[75]
Case law, principle, relevant statutes and
practicality all support a rejection of Chevron’s contention. Jurisdiction in
an action for recognition and enforcement stems from service being effected on
the basis of a foreign judgment rendered in the plaintiff’s favour, and against
the named defendant. There is no need to demonstrate a real and substantial
connection between the dispute and the enforcing forum. To conclude otherwise
would undermine the important values of order and fairness that underlie all
conflicts rules: Van Breda, at para. 74, quoting Morguard, at
p. 1097. Moreover, such a conclusion would be inconsistent with this
Court’s statement in Beals that the doctrine of comity (to which the
principles of order and fairness attach) “must be permitted to evolve
concomitantly with international business relations, cross-border transactions,
as well as mobility”: para. 27. Cross-border transactions and
interactions continue to multiply. As they do, comity requires an increasing
willingness on the part of courts to recognize the acts of other states. This
is essential to allow individuals and companies to conduct international
business without worrying that their participation in such relationships will
jeopardize or negate their legal rights.
[76]
In this case, jurisdiction is established with
respect to Chevron, which was served ex juris pursuant to rule 17.02(m)
of the Rules. The plaintiffs alleged in their amended statement of claim that
Chevron was a foreign debtor as a result of “the final Judgment of the
Appellate Division of the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos of Ecuador of January 3, 2012”: A.R.,
vol. I, at p. 102. While this judgment has since been varied by the Court of
Cassation, this occurred after the amended statement of claim had been filed.
The original judgment remains largely intact, although, as noted, the Court of
Cassation reduced the total amount owed. The plaintiffs have sufficiently
pleaded the Ontario courts’ jurisdiction over Chevron.
[77]
In closing on this first issue, I wish to
emphasize that when jurisdiction is found to exist, it does not necessarily
follow that it will or should be exercised: A. Briggs, The Conflict of Laws
(3rd ed. 2013), at pp. 52-53; see also Van Breda, at para. 101.
Establishing jurisdiction merely means that the alleged debt merits the
assistance and attention of the Ontario courts. Once the parties move past the
jurisdictional phase, it may still be open to the defendant to argue any or all
of the following, whether by way of preliminary motions or at trial: that the
proper use of Ontario judicial resources justifies a stay under the
circumstances; that the Ontario courts should decline to exercise jurisdiction
on the basis of forum non conveniens; that any one of the available
defences to recognition and enforcement (i.e. fraud, denial of natural justice,
or public policy) should be accepted in the circumstances; or that a motion
under either Rule 20 (summary judgment) or Rule 21 (determination of an issue
before trial) of the Rules should be granted. The availability of these
potential arguments, however, does not oust the jurisdiction of the Ontario
courts over the plaintiffs’ action for recognition and enforcement.
B.
Jurisdiction With Respect to Chevron Canada
[78]
For its part, Chevron Canada contends that
― whatever might be the case for Chevron ― jurisdiction cannot be
established over it, a stranger to the original foreign judgment. It advances
two primary submissions. First, in its view, the Court of Appeal erroneously
found jurisdiction over Chevron without inquiring into the nature of the
relationship between that defendant or the subject matter of the action and
Ontario. This error allegedly had important consequences on the issue of
whether jurisdiction exists over Chevron Canada. Given that I have found that
jurisdiction properly exists over Chevron, this submission is now moot.
[79]
Chevron Canada’s second submission is that the
other factors relied upon by the Court of Appeal to find jurisdiction (C.A.
reasons, at para. 38) ― namely, Chevron Canada’s “bricks-and-mortar
business in Ontario” and its “economically significant relationship” with
Chevron ― do not in fact establish jurisdiction. Chevron Canada argues
that while corporations domiciled in Ontario can be brought before the province’s
courts even in the absence of a relationship between the claim and that
province, the same cannot be said for corporations that merely carry on
business in Ontario. Relying on Van Breda, it argues that in such
cases, Ontario courts only have jurisdiction if there is a connection between
the subject matter of the claim and the business conducted in the province.
According to Chevron Canada, while the Court in Van Breda maintained the
traditional jurisdictional grounds of presence and consent, it also limited the
instances in which presence-based jurisdiction can be said to exist. For
corporations, the Court recognized that the existence of an office other than
the head office is not an independent jurisdictional ground, but is properly
considered part of carrying on business in the province. In Chevron Canada’s
view, carrying on business from an office is only a presumptive connecting
factor that can be rebutted by showing that there is no connection between the
claim and the business the corporation conducts in the province. This flows
from the constitutional limits on the state’s exercise of power and applies
regardless of whether service is effected ex juris or in juris.
[80]
Chevron Canada further submits that the
existence of its “economically significant relationship” with Chevron is
insufficient to find jurisdiction: A.F., at para. 65. Such a finding would
disregard the concept of separate corporate personality, “a bedrock principle
of law” since Salomon v. Salomon & Co., [1897] A.C. 22. This case
is not one of the limited instances in which piercing the corporate veil is
permissible. Chevron Canada adds that in every action, there must be a “good
arguable case” that a sufficient connection with Ontario exists before the
province’s courts can exercise jurisdiction: A.F., at para. 86, citing Ontario
v. Rothman’s Inc., 2013 ONCA 353, 115 O.R. (3d) 561, at para. 54. In its
submission, there is none here.
[81]
I do not accept Chevron Canada’s submissions. Van
Breda specifically preserved the traditional jurisdictional grounds of
presence and consent. Chevron Canada erroneously seeks to conflate the rules
on presence-based jurisdiction and those on assumed jurisdiction, even though
they have always developed in their respective spheres. Here, presence-based
jurisdiction is made out on the basis of Chevron Canada’s office in
Mississauga, Ontario, where it was served in juris. Carrying on a
business in Ontario at which the defendant is served is sufficient to find
presence-based jurisdiction. Several Ontario courts have found this to be the
case. The reference in Van Breda to constitutional conflict of laws
principles does not change the fact that a sufficient jurisdictional basis
exists to allow the plaintiffs’ case to proceed against Chevron Canada. In any
event, even in the context of the rules on assumed jurisdiction, which I do not
need to consider in this case, it would be inappropriate to import the
connecting factors for tort claims identified in Van Breda into the
recognition and enforcement context without further analysis.
(1)
Van Breda and the
Traditional Jurisdictional Grounds
[82]
Van Breda was a
case about assumed jurisdiction, one of three bases for asserting jurisdiction in
personam over an out-of-province defendant. The other two bases, known as
the “traditional” jurisdictional grounds, are presence-based jurisdiction and
consent-based jurisdiction: Muscutt v. Courcelles (2002), 60 O.R. (3d)
20 (C.A.), at para. 19.
[83]
Chevron Canada’s appeal concerns the traditional
ground of presence. Presence-based jurisdiction has existed at common law for
several decades; its historical roots “cannot be over-emphasized”: S. G.
A. Pitel and C. D. Dusten, “Lost in Transition: Answering the Questions Raised
by the Supreme Court of Canada’s New Approach to Jurisdiction” (2006), 85 Can.
Bar Rev. 61, at p. 69. It “is based upon the requirement and sufficiency
of personal service of the originating process within the province or territory
of the forum (service in juris)”: J.-G. Castel, Introduction
to Conflict of Laws (4th ed. 2002), at p. 83.
If service is properly effected on a person who is in the forum at the time of
the action, the court has jurisdiction regardless of the nature of the cause of
action: T. J. Monestier, “(Still) a ‘Real and Substantial’
Mess: The Law of Jurisdiction in Canada” (2013), 36 Fordham Int’l L.J.
396, at p. 449. Assumed jurisdiction, for its part,
emerged much later and developed through the adoption of rules for service ex
juris: Pitel and Rafferty, at p. 53. When a court finds that it has
jurisdiction on this basis, that jurisdiction is limited to the specific action
at issue before it.
[84]
While Van Breda simplified, justified,
and explained many critical aspects of Canadian private international law, it
did not purport to displace the traditional jurisdictional grounds. LeBel J.
explicitly stated that, in addition to the connecting factors he established
for assumed jurisdiction, “jurisdiction may also be based on traditional
grounds, like the defendant’s presence in the jurisdiction or consent to submit
to the court’s jurisdiction, if they are established”: para. 79. In other
words, “[t]he real and substantial connection test does not oust the
traditional private international law bases for court jurisdiction”: ibid.
[85]
To establish traditional, presence-based
jurisdiction over an out-of-province corporate defendant, it must be shown that
the defendant was carrying on business in the forum at the time of the action.
Whether a corporation is “carrying on business” in the province is a question
of fact: Wilson v. Hull (1995), 174 A.R. 81 (C.A.), at para. 52; Ingersoll
Packing Co. v. New York Central and Hudson River R.R. Co. (1918), 42 O.L.R.
330 (S.C. (in chambers)), at p. 337. In Wilson, in the context of
statutory registration of a foreign judgment, the Alberta Court of Appeal was
asked to assess whether a company was carrying on business in the
jurisdiction. It held that to make this determination, the court must inquire
into whether the company has “some direct or indirect presence in the state
asserting jurisdiction, accompanied by a degree of business activity which is
sustained for a period of time”: para. 13. These factors are and always have
been compelling indicia of corporate presence; as the cases cited in Adams
v. Cape Industries Plc., [1990] 1 Ch. 433, at pp. 467-68, per Scott J.,
demonstrate, the common law has consistently found the maintenance of physical
business premises to be a compelling jurisdictional factor. LeBel J. accepted
this in Van Breda when he held that “carrying on business requires some
form of actual, not only virtual, presence in the jurisdiction, such as
maintaining an office there”: para. 87.
[86]
The motion judge in this case made the following
factual findings concerning Chevron Canada’s Mississauga office:
Chevron
Canada operates a business establishment in Mississauga, Ontario. It is not a
mere “virtual” business. It runs a bricks and mortar office from which it
carries out a non-transitory business with human means and its Ontario staff
provides services to and solicits sales from its customers in this province.
[para. 87]
These findings have not been
contested. They are sufficient to establish presence-based jurisdiction.
Chevron Canada has a physical office in Mississauga, Ontario, where it was
served pursuant to rule 16.02(1)(c), which provides that valid service can be
made at a place of business in Ontario. Chevron Canada’s business activities
at this office are sustained; it has representatives who provide services to
customers in the province. Canadian courts have found that jurisdiction exists
in such circumstances: Incorporated Broadcasters Ltd. v. Canwest Global
Communications Corp. (2003), 63 O.R. (3d) 431 (C.A.), at para. 36; Prince
v. ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., 2013 ONSC 2906, 115 O.R. (3d) 721, appeal
dismissed and cross-appeal allowed 2014 ONCA 285, 120 O.R. (3d) 140; Abdula
v. Canadian Solar Inc., 2011 ONSC 5105, 92 B.L.R. (4th) 324, aff’d 2012
ONCA 211, 110 O.R. (3d) 256; Wilson; Charron v. Banque
provinciale du Canada, [1936] O.W.N. 315 (H.C.J.).
[87]
The motion judge’s analysis was correct, and the
Ontario Court of Appeal had no need to go beyond these considerations to find
jurisdiction. As several lower courts have noted both prior to and since Van
Breda, where jurisdiction stems from the defendant’s presence in the
jurisdiction, there is no need to consider whether a real and substantial
connection exists: Incorporated Broadcasters Ltd., at para. 29, cited
with approval in Prince (C.A.), at para. 48; Patterson v. EM
Technologies, Inc., 2013 ONSC 5849, at paras. 13-16
(CanLII). In other words, the question of whether jurisdiction exists over
Chevron Canada should begin and end with traditional, presence-based
jurisdiction in this case.
(2)
Effect of the Constitutional Principles
Developed in Van Breda
[88]
Nonetheless, Chevron Canada adds constitutional
flavour to its submissions, contending that LeBel J.’s comments in Van Breda
on the prerequisites for assuming jurisdiction over corporate defendants
should apply to all types of jurisdiction ― presence-based,
consent-based, and assumed ― by virtue of the real and substantial
connection test as a constitutional principle: A.F., at paras. 42-50. As noted
in my discussion of Chevron, LeBel J. articulated this constitutional principle
as suggesting that “the connection between a state and a dispute cannot be weak
or hypothetical”, as such a connection “would cast doubt upon the legitimacy of
the exercise of state power over the persons affected by the dispute”: Van
Breda, at para. 32.
[89]
In my view, the real and substantial connection test as a
constitutional principle does not dictate that it is “illegitimate” to find
jurisdiction over Chevron Canada in this case. Chevron Canada has elected to establish and continue to operate a place of business
in Mississauga, Ontario, at which it was served. It should therefore have
expected that it might one day be called upon to answer to an Ontario court’s
request that it defend against an action. If a defendant maintains a place of
business in Ontario, it is reasonable to say that the Ontario courts have an
interest in the defendant and the disputes in which it becomes involved. As
the Ontario Court of Appeal put it in Incorporated Broadcasters Ltd., at
para. 33, “[t]here is no constitutional impediment to a court asserting
jurisdiction over a person having a presence in the province”, at least as
presence is established in this case. To accept Chevron Canada’s
submission to the contrary would be to endorse an unduly “narrow” view of
jurisdiction, one towards which this Court has shown no prior inclination: J. Blom, “New Ground Rules for Jurisdictional Disputes: The Van
Breda Quartet” (2012), 53 Can. Bus. L.J. 1, at p. 12. For Ontario
courts to have jurisdiction over Chevron Canada in this case, mere presence
through the carrying on of business in the province, combined with service
therein, suffices to find jurisdiction on the traditional grounds. There is no
need to resort to the Van Breda criteria for assumed jurisdiction in
tort claims in such a situation. To accept Chevron Canada’s submissions
would be to permit a total conflation of presence-based and assumed
jurisdiction. As Briggs has noted, “[c]ommon law jurisdiction draws a
fundamental distinction between cases where the defendant is and is not within
the territorial jurisdiction of the court when the proceedings are commenced”:
p. 112.
[90]
Because jurisdiction over Chevron Canada exists on the basis of
the traditional grounds, I need not consider how jurisdiction might be found
over a third party who is not present in and does not attorn to the
jurisdiction of the Ontario courts, but who is alleged to be capable of
satisfying a foreign judgment debt. I offer only two comments in this regard.
[91]
First, it should be remembered that the specific connecting
factors that LeBel J. established in Van Breda were designed for and
should be confined to the assumption of jurisdiction in tort actions. His comments with respect to carrying on business in the
jurisdiction, at paras. 85 and 87, were tailored to that context. The same is
true of the examples he gave to show how the presumption of jurisdiction can be
rebutted in respect of the connecting factors he identified. LeBel J.’s
statement that the presumptive connecting factor of “carrying on business in
the province . . . can be rebutted by showing that the subject matter of the
litigation is unrelated to the defendant’s business activities in the province”
must be confined accordingly: para. 96. The connecting factors that he
identified for tort claims did not purport to be an inventory covering all
claims known to law, and the appropriate connecting factors can reasonably be
expected to vary depending on the cause of action at issue.
[92]
In the recognition and enforcement context, it
would hardly make sense to require that the carrying on of business in the
province relate to the subject matter of the dispute. The subject matter of
recognition and enforcement proceedings is the collection of a debt. A
debt is enforceable against any and all assets of a given debtor, not merely
those that may have a relationship to the claim. For instance, suppose a
foreign judgment is validly rendered against Corporation A in a foreign country
as a result of a liability of its Division I, which operates solely in that
country. If Corporation A operates a place of business for its separate and
unrelated Division II in Ontario, where all its available and recoverable
assets happen to be located, it could not be argued that the foreign judgment
creditor cannot execute and enforce it in Ontario against Corporation A because
the business activities of the latter in the province are not related to the
liability created by the foreign judgment.
[93]
Second, one aspect of the plaintiffs’
claim in this case is for enforcement of Chevron’s obligation to pay the foreign
judgment using the shares and assets of Chevron Canada to satisfy its parent
corporation’s debt obligation. In this respect, the subject matter of the
claim is not the Ecuadorian events that led to the foreign judgment to which
Chevron Canada is a stranger, but rather, at least arguably, the collection of
a debt using shares and assets that are alleged to be available for enforcement
purposes. In an enforcement process like this for the collection of a debt
against a third party, assets in the jurisdiction through the carrying on of
business activities are undoubtedly tied to the subject matter of the claim.
From that standpoint, seizable assets are not merely the subject matter of the
dispute, they are its core. In this regard, the third party is the direct
object of the proceedings. When a plaintiff seeks enforcement against a third
party to satisfy a foreign judgment debt, the existence of assets in the
province may therefore well be a highly relevant connecting factor of the sort
needed for such an action to proceed. Indeed, it is hard to identify who,
besides the province, would have jurisdiction over a company for enforcement
processes against that company’s assets in the province.
(3)
Conclusion
[94]
Chevron Canada was served in juris, in
accordance with rule 16.02(1)(c), at a place of business it operates in
Mississauga, Ontario. Traditional, presence-based jurisdiction is satisfied.
Jurisdiction is thus established with respect to it. As indicated for Chevron,
the establishment of jurisdiction does not mean that the plaintiffs will
necessarily succeed in having the Ecuadorian judgment recognized and enforced
against Chevron Canada. A finding of jurisdiction does nothing more than
afford the plaintiffs the opportunity to seek recognition and enforcement of
the Ecuadorian judgment. Once past the jurisdictional stage, Chevron Canada,
like Chevron, can use the available procedural tools to try to dispose of the
plaintiffs’ allegations. This possibility is foreign to and remote from the
questions that must be resolved on this appeal.
[95]
Further, my conclusion that the Ontario courts
have jurisdiction in this case should not be understood to prejudice future
arguments with respect to the distinct corporate personalities of Chevron and
Chevron Canada. I take no position on whether Chevron Canada can properly be
considered a judgment-debtor to the Ecuadorian judgment. Similarly, should the
judgment be recognized and enforced against Chevron, it does not automatically
follow that Chevron Canada’s shares or assets will be available to satisfy
Chevron’s debt. For instance, shares in a subsidiary belong to the
shareholder, not to the subsidiary itself. Only those shares whose ownership
is ultimately attributable to the judgment debtor could be the valid target of
a recognition and enforcement action. It is not at the early stage of
assessing jurisdiction that courts should determine whether the shares or
assets of Chevron Canada are available to satisfy Chevron’s debt. As such,
contrary to the appellants’ submissions, this is not a case in which the Court
is called upon to alter the fundamental principle of corporate separateness as
reiterated in BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, 2008 SCC 69, [2008] 3
S.C.R. 560, at least not at this juncture. In that regard, the deference
allegedly owed to the motion judge’s findings concerning the separate corporate
personalities of the appellants and the absence of a valid foundation for the
Ontario courts’ exercise of jurisdiction is misplaced. These findings were reached
in the context of the s. 106 stay. As I stated above, the Court of Appeal
reversed that stay, and this issue is not on appeal before us.
VI.
Disposition
[96]
For these reasons, I would dismiss the appeal,
with costs.
Appeal
dismissed with costs.
Solicitors for the
appellant Chevron Corporation: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, Calgary and
Toronto.
Solicitors for the
appellant Chevron Canada Limited: Goodmans, Toronto.
Solicitors for the
respondents: Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin, Toronto; Conway Baxter
Wilson, Ottawa.
Solicitors for the
interveners the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto
Faculty of Law, MiningWatch Canada and the Canadian Centre for International
Justice: Klippensteins, Toronto; University of Toronto, Toronto.
Solicitors for the
intervener the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project: Siskinds,
London.