Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH v. MFC Bancorp Ltd. 2019 BCSC 1536
Ken McEwan, K.C. and William Stransky Successful in Jurisdiction Application to Dismiss Action Brought Against Clients in BC
In Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH v. MFC Bancorp Ltd., Ken McEwan, K.C. and William Stransky, acting on behalf of merchant bank MFC Bancorp and their subsidiaries and directors, succeeded in an application to dismiss an action on the basis that the BC court had no jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The plaintiff, a German manufacturing company, brought an action to enforce a payment guarantee in BC, amongst other claims. The MFC Bancorp defendants, who were not resident in BC, argued that the claims should be litigated in Germany.
In dismissing the action, the court found that MFC Bancorp had established that the BC court did not have jurisdiction. In particular, the court accepted MFC Bancorp’s arguments that the allegations all addressed conduct that substantially occurred in Germany and was governed by German law. The court further found that even if it there was a connection to BC, MFC Bancorp had overwhelmingly established that Germany was the better jurisdiction to hear the dispute. MFC Bancorp’s application was granted in full, with costs.
