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dissatisfied, take whatever action each of them thought
advisable. […]
As scheduled, the matter returned to court on April 25,
2016. Counsel for the defendants indicated a desire to
bring forward an up-to-date accounting. I pause to
repeat that, from the perspective of the court, the point
of the requirement that an accounting be prepared and
updated was to allow for proper information to be
provided to the investors who were not parties to the
action to allow them to consider what, if any, action they
wished to take. A new accounting would respond to
that ambition and meet the court’s concern that it
orders be respected, acted on, and not ignored. The
proceeding was adjourned to September 26, 2016 and
a schedule set for the exchange of materials […]
It was not until August 24, 2016 that counsel for the
defendants delivered further material, most importantly
from the perspective of the court, an up-to-date
accounting of the income and expenditures associated
with the development project […] The list of headings
which identify the expenditures all appear to be
consistent with those that would be a part of a real
estate development. While not excusing the delay or
the failure of the defendants to comply with the Revised
Minutes of Settlement, this document does provide
advice to the investors as to the state of the project and
would give them some basis to determine if they had
questions or concerns that required further
investigation or action. As such, the initial concern of
the court, as raised at the trial, was met, albeit
belatedly. More directly, if it could be said that the
defendants were, as a result of breaching the promises
made to the court as part of the settlement, in contempt
of the court, the contempt has been purged. […]
It is my hope that, with the accounting distributed to all
of the investors, they will be brought up-to-date and be
able to consider whether there is any action they
should, could or wish to take. Finally, it may all be
moot. Counsel for the defendants has advised the
court that the property has been sold. A substantial
part of the compensation for the sale is in vendor take-
back mortgages. Thus, the funds will be forthcoming
over time. Counsel was unable to advise the court as
to how this would affect any individual investor. It
would be wise to calculate the prospective outcome
and to advise the various investors.