The plaintiff was the Argentinean subsidiary of an Ontario public corporation, which had acquired the subsidiary through a competitive bidding process run by Newmont Gold. Following the acquisition, the plaintiff discovered silver anomalies in data developed by the subsidiary while it was owned by Newmont, and then discovered that the defendant’s geologists had received the data as part of their due diligence in the bidding process and had used the data to stake the claims. The plaintiff brought claims framed in breach of confidence. The court awarded the plaintiff ownership of the silver claims through a constructive trust. The matter raised complex issues relating to the scope of the constructive trust remedy, as well as the consideration of foreign legal by British Columbia courts. NST acted for the plaintiff throughout the matter, including through trial (2006 BCSC 1102) and appeal (2007 BCCA 319), and in successfully defending a leave application to the Supreme Court of Canada (2007 S.C.C.A 424).
Media Coverage
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/small-is-profitable/article1353370/
