Order has been Restored: Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Common Interest Privilege

Director, Document Review Services

March 27, 2018

In Iggillis Holdings Inc. v. Canada (National Revenue), 2018 FCA 51 (CanLII), a highly anticipated decision released earlier this month, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a Federal Court decision which found that common interest privilege “is not a legitimate or acceptable application of solicitor-client privilege”.

In this case, Abacus Capital (“Abacus”) structured a series of transactions to acquire the shares of the corporations that were previously held by IGGillis Holdings Inc. and Ian Gillis (collectively, “Gillis”). Abacus’ lawyer, with input from Gillis’ lawyer, prepared a memorandum outlining the steps to purchase the shares in the most tax-efficient manner (the “Abacus Memo”). … Read More

Federal Court of Appeal: No Public Interest Class Privilege

Candice Chan-Glasgow

Director, Document Review Services

February 26, 2018

In Vancouver Airport Authority v. Commissioner of Competition, 2018 FCA 24, the Federal Court of Appeal denied the Commissioner of Competition a public interest class privilege over documents obtained during an investigation.

The investigation related to the Airport Authority’s decision to allow only two in-flight caterers to operate at the Vancouver International Airport. The Commissioner alleged that the Airport Authority behaved in an anti-competitive manner, resulting in “higher prices, dampened innovation and lower service quality”.

The Commissioner’s initial affidavit of documents listed 11,500 relevant documents. Approximately 9,500 of these records were withheld on the basis of an alleged public interest class privilege. … Read More