Appeal Court upholds ruling dismissing lawsuit proposed by trust beneficiary

Ontario’s Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling, dismissing a lawsuit against the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and TD Bank.

The Appeal Court denied an appeal of a 2019 decision by the Superior Court of Justice, which found that a claim against the OSC and the bank had no merit, and amounted to an abuse of process.

According to the Appeal Court decision, the plaintiff, Christa Ochnik, claimed that “the respondents orchestrated the wrongful conviction of her father and 1464210 Ontario Inc. by the Ontario Securities Commission.”

She further claimed that the conviction led to the bankruptcy of 146 and another company, which were the only assets of a family trust, and that, as a beneficiary of the trust, she suffered a loss as a result.

“However, the convictions were upheld on appeal to the Divisional Court and this court denied leave to appeal,” the appellate court noted, adding that it didn’t see any error in the motion judge’s finding that the action was an abuse of process and that Ocknik lacked standing to pursue any claims.

“The motion judge’s findings are fatal to the appellant’s request for an amendment. The appeal is dismissed,” it concluded.

The case stems from an OSC hearing in 2006, which found that Richard Ochnik and his company (146) violated securities law in operating an RRSP unlocking scheme.

They were permanently banned by the OSC.

TD Waterhouse Canada, which had been used to carry out the scheme, settled with the OSC in 2005 for suitability and disclosure violations stemming from the scheme.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.