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CITATION: Thrive Capital Management Ltd. v. Noble 1324 Queen Inc., 2022 ONSC 4081
COURT FILE NO.: CV-20-00639748-00CL
(COMMERCIAL LIST)
THRIVE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
) Brian N. Radnoff, Dylan E. Augruso, and
LTD., THRIVE UPLANDS LTD., 2699010 ) Dan A. Poliwoda, for the plaintiffs
ONTARIO INC. and 2699011 ONTARIO
Plaintiffs
– and –
Justin Necpal, for the Defendant Giuseppe
NOBLE 1324 QUEEN INC., MICHAEL
HYMAN, GIUSEPPE ANASTASIO,
DAVID BOWEN, NOBLE
DEVELOPMENTS CORPORATION,
HAMPSHIRE AND ASSOCIATES
INCORPORATED, LISA SUSAN
ANASTASIO, RAJEREE ETWAROO
CON-STRADA CONSTRUCTION
GROUP INC.
Lorne Sabsay, for the Defendants
Michael Hyman and Hampshire and
Associates Incorporated
) HEARD: May 3, 2022
REASONS FOR DECISION
KIMMEL J.
The defendants Michael Hyman ("Hyman") and Giuseppe Anastasio ("Anastasio") and their
affiliated companies (collectively, the "Developer Defendants"1) were found to be in contempt of the
orders of Koehnen J. dated April 23, 2020, and his "follow-on" orders dated May 19, 2020; June 1,
This includes all of the defendants except Lisa Anastasio, Rajeree Etwaroo, and Con-Strada Construction Group Inc.
Although the defendant David Bowen was included among the defendants found to be in contempt, no penalty was sought
against him at the first sanction hearing. To avoid confusion, he has not been included in the definition of the "Developer
Defendants" to whom the current decision applies.
2020; and June 10, 2020, after a contempt hearing on June 19, 2020. The detailed reasons for these
findings (the "Contempt Reasons") were released on August 21, 2020 (Thrive Capital Management
Ltd. v. Michael Hyman et al, 2020 ONSC 4921). Following a sanction hearing held on November
5, 2020, in reasons released on January 21, 2021 (Thrive Capital Management Ltd. et al v. Michael
Hyman et al, 2021 ONSC 482), the court rendered judgment against the Developer Defendants in the
full amount of the claim ($9 million) as the sanction for their past and continuing contempt of the
court's previous orders (the "Sentencing Decision").
In a decision dated October 15, 2021 (Thrive Capital Management Ltd. v. Noble 1324, 2021
ONCA 722), the Court of Appeal for Ontario (at para. 36) ordered that the contempt judgment and
Sentencing Decision of Koehnen J. be set aside and remitted the matter to another judge of the
Superior Court of Justice to determine the appropriate sanction to be imposed upon the Developer
Defendants for their contempt of the court's earlier orders (the "Appeal Decision"). The May 3, 2022
hearing before me was to determine the appropriate sanction (the "re-sentencing hearing").
This action arises out of a $9 million investment made by the plaintiffs in two corporations:
2699010 Ontario Inc. ("9010") and 2699011 Ontario Inc. ("9011"). Each corporation had identified
a property that would be purchased for redevelopment: 9010 was to purchase a property in Brampton
(the "Brampton Property"). 9011 was to purchase a property in Richmond Hill (the "Richmond Hill
Property"). The plaintiffs assert that this investment was made by them on the understanding and
agreement that they would have 50% control, and general oversight and approval rights, as provided
for in unanimous shareholder agreements entered into with each corporation dated July 3, 2019.
The plaintiffs advanced the agreed $9 million. The Brampton Property was purchased, but
title was taken in the name of Noble 1324 Queen Inc., not 9010. Mortgages were registered against
title in excess of $10 million, which stood in priority to the mortgage that the plaintiffs were expecting
to be granted as security for their investment. The plaintiffs discovered this and other alleged
improprieties involving the use of their funds and commenced this action in April 2020.
The purchase of the Richmond Hill Property was scheduled to close on April 23, 2020 and
that proposed purchase was also disclosed to be in the name of a company controlled by the
defendants, not 9011. That purchase did not close. There was an earlier finding of this court in the
Contempt Reasons (at para. 94) that Hyman "intended to fail to close the Richmond Hill Property
and took proactive steps to ensure the transaction would not close."
Procedural History and Conduct of the Litigation
Since this is a contempt sanction hearing, the procedural history is of particular relevance.
Some of the more pertinent prior orders and endorsements are summarized below (the italics
have been added by me for emphasis in the context of these reasons):
a. After a hearing on short notice, on April 23, 2020 Koehnen J. granted an Interim Order
(the "Mareva and Disclosure Order") for, among other things, a Mareva Injunction
restraining the dissipation of the assets of the Developer Defendants (paras. 3-5, 14,
16,), ordering an accounting and various disclosure from them (paras. 7-9), and
ordering that they complete the pending purchase of the Richmond Hill Property and
provide accounting and disclosure in respect of it (paras. 17-18).
b. In the April 24, 2020 endorsement supporting the Mareva and Disclosure Order,
Koehnen J. made the following findings:
i. The defendants submit that it was necessary to assign the purchase of the two
properties to a different entity because they could not obtain financing for a
numbered company. That submission is not worthy of belief. The name of a
corporation makes no difference to its ability to obtain financing. In the highly
unusual event that it did, the defendants could simply have changed the names
of 9010 and 9011 to a name that they say would have been more acceptable to
their lenders (at para. 8).
ii. Although the motion was argued on very short notice, which did not give the
defendants an adequate opportunity to file materials, they do not contest that
the properties were not purchased by 9010 and 9011, corporations through
which the investors had some protection. The investors have been deprived of
all of those protections. The explanation for purchasing the properties in the
names of corporations controlled by the defendants is not credible (at para.
iii. The spiriting away of the principal assets plus the presentation of forged bank
statements and the alleged failure to provide detailed information about what
had occurred with the investors' funds all creates a serious issue to be tried
(at para. 12).
c. Following a motion for contempt by the plaintiffs for the Developer Defendants'
failure to comply with the Mareva and Disclosure Order, in a May 19, 2020
endorsement Koehnen J. found (at paras. 2 and 3) that the defendants were in
"material breach of the order" and that the "order was clear on its face." However,
before considering a motion for contempt (a remedy of last resort), additional
guidance as to what the court expected the Developer Defendants to do in respect of
the Richmond Hill Property purchase was necessary (at para. 4 of the May 19, 2020
order):
"To avoid any further confusion, I am extending the scope of paragraph
18 to compel the defendants to produce all documents relating to the
Richmond Hill Property whether relevant to closing or not."
Further compliance directions were also provided in connection with the Mareva and
Disclosure Order, including with respect to the manner of production of emails with
attachments (which had been ordered by para. 7) and regarding the full accounting of
funds (which had been ordered by para. 8). Some of the noted non-compliance that
the defendants were ordered to remedy by the May 19, 2020 endorsement and order
i. The defendants failed to provide any explanation for the deposits or
withdrawals, apart from general statements such as payment to Hampshire or
some other person or entity… At a minimum, they need to drill down to the
end of the text of paragraph 7 which expressly states that the accounting is to
be provided "with backup and supporting documents and records." The
defendants' accounting falls far short of what the words of the order clearly
require (at para. 6).
ii. The order for production of documents "including account statements, records
of payments and transfers, agreements, documents related to development or
financing and communications" would also include any agreements or
documents supporting transfers into or out of the bank accounts that are subject
to an accounting in paragraph 7 of the order (at para. 7).
iii. The core allegation in the claim is that the defendants took the plaintiffs'
money and, rather than investing it, dissipated it for their personal use. Given
these allegations and given that the evidence to support them was strong
enough to warrant an interim Mareva injunction, the plaintiffs are entitled to
information about what was done with money from the accounts referred to in
the April 23 Order. The plaintiffs are entitled to information about who the
money went to, what it was for and what any defendant recipient did with that
money (at para. 8).
iv. Paragraph 9 of the April 23 order requires the defendants to provide contact
information for among others, Lisa Anastasio and the recipients of funds from
the defined bank accounts. The defendants have failed to do so… That means
more than just an address. It also means any other contact information. To be
abundantly clear, if the defendants have any sort of contact information at all
about any of the individuals referred to in paragraph 9, they are obliged to
produce it and their failure to do so would amount to a continued breach of the
order (at para. 13).
d. The last sentence of para. 4 of the May 19, 2020 order states as follows: "For greater
certainty, the accounting shall include detailed, full and complete information about
what was done with the money in the Accounts, who the money went to, where it was
sent, the account it was deposited into, what it was for and what any recipient did with
that money."
e. Paras. 5 to 8 of the Order of Koehnen J. dated May 19, 2020 provided detailed further
guidance for compliance with the Mareva and Disclosure Order. The Developer
Defendants were given an extension of time for their compliance to May 29, 2020.
f. By an order dated May 27, 2020, Koehnen J. awarded costs to the plaintiffs fixed in
the amount of $43,824.11 in respect of the May 19, 2020 motion.
g. At a June 1, 2020 case conference, the court observed (at para. 5) that: "The defendants
appear to remain in breach orders the court has issued. Their purported compliance
today by producing an accounting does not, on its face, comply with the requirements
of the orders requiring an accounting. The defendants shall have one last chance until
the end of the day June 2, 2022 comply with the orders." The court directed that the
June 19, 2020 hearing date that had been reserved for the come-back motion on the
Mareva Injunction would instead be used to argue the contempt motion. The court
also noted, variously:
i. The defendants continue to be in breach of court orders despite opportunities
to bring themselves into compliance. The nature of their breach is fairly
obvious. It is not a question of having misunderstood a requirement of an order
or of some ambiguity in an order. By way of example, the order requiring them
to produce an accounting also required them to produce back up
documentation. No back up documentation has been produced. The
"accounting" they have produced does not meet any standard of an accounting.
It consists of a list of payments grouped together in large lump sums without
indicating dates, payees or the source of funds. I have referred to their breaches
in an earlier endorsement as games playing. The nature of their non-
compliance leads me to believe that they continue to play games with the court
ii. A party that refuses to comply with court orders to begin with and then
continues its refusal to comply cannot expect any sympathy for the loss of use
of a Lamborghini or other luxury vehicle that appears to have been purchased
with or the lease payments for which appear to be financed with the plaintiffs'
money. I note that although the defendants have produced assets statements
that show them without anything more than a few thousand dollars in assets
(if even that in some cases), they continue to drive luxury vehicles. They have
failed to offer any explanation for that incongruity (at para. 18).
h. Various third party production orders were also made on June 10, 2020.
i. At the contempt hearing held on June 19, 2020, Koehnen J. found the Developer
Defendants to be in contempt of the Mareva and Disclosure Order (for failing to
provide the accounting, disclose the location and VIN numbers of certain vehicles,
provide affidavits of assets, and provide certain types of other disclosure). Koehnen
J. noted that the Developer Defendants' failure to comply had already been the subject
of attendances and findings of breach on May 19, June 1, and June 10, 2020. It was
further noted in the preliminary endorsement of the court following that hearing that
the defendants had been warned at previous hearings, "that the nature of their breach
would, without some explanation, amount to contempt and rise to the level of
contempt that has led courts in the past to incarcerate defendants. I sent that message
in the hope that it would incentivize the defendants to comply with the orders.
Regrettably the defendants have not yet complied." The individual defendants were
ordered to surrender their passports and restrained from leaving the province of
Ontario subject to certain conditions.
j. By a further order of June 14, 2020, Hyman and Anastasio were ordered to provide
information about certain luxury vehicles they had previously identified among their
assets and were restricted from driving those vehicles.
k. Koehnen J. made orders dated July 20, 2020 with respect to the sale of the Brampton
Property (and to compel further third party production). In applying the test for an
interlocutory injunction to determine the plaintiffs' entitlement to the mandatory order
they sought for the sale of the Brampton Property, Koehnen J. reviewed the evidence
upon which he concluded that the plaintiffs had made out a strong prima facie case,
concluding (at paras. 15 and 16) that: "There is no doubt in my mind that the failure
to abide by the safeguards referred to in paragraph nine [provided for under the
shareholders agreement] above constitutes a strong prima facie case of oppression as
does the diversion to the individual defendants of funds intended for investment in the
Brampton property. The defendants' explanations for their conduct are entirely
unsatisfactory."
At para. 35, Koehnen J. had this to say about the accounting that the Developer
Defendants had provided:
Paragraph 7 of the April 23 order required the defendants to produce a
"full accounting of all funds deposited, withdrawn or removed from"
certain bank accounts "with backup and supporting documents and
records." The accounting was particularly sensitive because the records
that the plaintiffs had obtained from the defendants' bankers showed
payments of over $2,600,000 from those bank accounts to Messrs. Hyman,
Anastasio and Bowen. The accounting the defendants provided is
perfunctory at best. It is simply a list of general payments with no backup
documents to support them. Given that the core allegation against the
defendants is that they took the plaintiffs' money and dissipated it for their
own personal use as opposed to investing it, and given that this allegation
supported the Mareva injunction, one might expect the defendants to have
tried to provide some sort of explanation. The best they have come up with
is a series of invoices from them with descriptions like "for financial
services" or for "financial obligations" without any further explanation.
[Emphasis added.]
l. The Developer Defendants were found to be in contempt of various court orders by
Koehnen J. in his Contempt Reasons released on August 21, 2020.
m. In an endorsement dated September 30, 2020, Koehnen J. provided the following
directions concerning the possibility of judgment being sought at the contempt
sanctions hearing:
To the extent that the defendants are taken by surprise by this argument, I have granted
them a one-month adjournment to prepare legal arguments in response. The range of
possible legal arguments might include that judgment is possible, that judgment is
entirely impossible as a sanction, that judgment cannot be rendered as a sanction
without an adjudication on the merits or any variations thereof.
The point of the sanctions hearing is not, however, to argue the merits. The defendants
are able to argue on the sanctions hearing that judgment on the merits is not
appropriate without an adjudication on the merits. That does not require them to
actually adjudicate the merits.
It was this last directive that ultimately led to the Court of Appeal's decision to return
this matter to a re-sentencing hearing.
n. Following a sanction hearing in November, 2020, Koehnen J. granted judgment
against the Developer Defendants in the amount of $9 million as a sanction for their
contempt, and alternatively sentenced them to six months of incarceration in his
Sentencing Decision.
o. The Sentencing Decision provides further details as to why the third accounting and
bookkeeping documents provided by the Developer Defendants (created after the fact)
were not sufficient to purge their contempt (for example, at paras. 15-29), without
which there were no mitigating factors (paras. 50 and 51). Other deficiencies in the
purported compliance by the Developer Defendants with the Mareva and Disclosure
Order (and other follow-on orders) were identified at paras. 30-44 of the Sentencing
p. In an endorsement dated July 26, 2021, after reaffirming that the Developer
Defendants continued to be in breach of the court's Mareva and Disclosure Order (and
the follow-on orders), Koehnen J. ordered further third-party production (described as
production that the plaintiffs were entitled to under the Mareva and Disclosure Order)
to assist the plaintiffs in their attempts to trace what the defendants had done with their
q. An amended Statement of Claim was issued on August 5, 2021.
r. Anastasio delivered a Statement of Defence dated November 22, 2021. No Statement
of Defence has been delivered by Hyman.
s. The Developer Defendants appealed the Sentencing Decision. The Court of Appeal
for Ontario overturned the Sentencing Decision and remitted the matter back to
another judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to determine the appropriate
sanction to be imposed on the Developer Defendants for their contempt. The Appeal
Decision turned upon the determination (at para. 33) that if judgment was to be
considered as a possible sanction for the finding of contempt "…the moving party
should expect that there will be a more searching inquiry about the merits and that
the respondent will be given an opportunity to respond to the merits."
t. In a subsequent costs endorsement (Thrive Capital Management Ltd. v. Noble 1324,
2021 ONCA 846 ) released November 24, 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the costs
ordered payable by the Developer Defendants in connection with the finding that they
were in contempt ($36,011.97) but set aside the costs awarded for the sanctions
hearing and the action since that was being remitted back for a new sanctions hearing,
which could lead to a different outcome. No costs were awarded to the appellants for
the appeal.
u. The re-sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for March 1, 2022, based on an
agreed timetable. It was adjourned to March 30, 2022 due to the failure of the
Developer Defendants to adhere to the timetable. A further conditional peremptory
adjournment was granted on March 30, 2022 to allow newly retained counsel for Mr.
Hyman to get up to speed and file a factum. All parties were represented by counsel
at the May 3, 2022 hearing.
Summary of Outcome
The court's declarations and orders are detailed at the end of these reasons. This is intended
only as a summary.
The Developer Defendants have still not fully purged their contempt in the two years since
the Mareva and Disclosure Order was made, despite the many opportunities that have been afforded
to them to do so. They have addressed certain deficiencies but their accounting for what happened
to the plaintiffs' funds, in particular, remains deficient.
[10] The court will not simply keep giving parties further chances to comply with court orders
without any consequence. That does not serve the interests of justice, which require parties to
demonstrate respect for and reasonable efforts to comply with the court's orders and its process.
[11] A fine is not considered to be an effective or appropriate sanction in this case. While the court
will, reluctantly, give the Developer Defendants one last chance to purge their contempt, first Hyman
and Anastasio each shall serve a 30-day sentence in jail. There needs to be a meaningful consequence
for the persistent failure to purge their contempt. Incarceration appears to be the only sanction that
might achieve the sentencing objectives of civil contempt, of both compelling the compliance of the
Developer Defendants with the Mareva and Disclosure Order and the follow-on orders and the
general and specific deterrence for future instances of this type of civil contempt.
[12] In the meantime, Anastasio's Statement of Defence is struck, any of the Developer
Defendants who have not already been noted in default will be deemed to have been so noted as of
the date of this endorsement. If they do not purge their contempt once and for all by the deadline
indicated for them to do so at the end of this endorsement, the plaintiffs may move for judgment and
shall at that time have the opportunity to prove the amount that they seek to be awarded. Conversely,
if the Developer Defendants have purged their contempt, and upon satisfying the court that they have
done so, they may seek leave of the court at that time to deliver defences to the Amended Statement
of Claim.
Positions of the Parties
The Position of Developer Defendants
[13] The Developer Defendants do not dispute the finding of contempt that was made against them
by Koehnen J. following the June 19, 2020 hearing. They maintain, however, that they have purged
the contempt and that a modest fine would be an appropriate penalty for their previous contempt.
The Developer Defendants say that they have now provided everything that is within their possession,
control, or power that they were ordered to provide, and they have done everything that they are able
to do, as required under the Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders.
[14] Further, the Developer Defendants argue that judgment is not an appropriate sanction for their
contempt in the face of the defences that they have raised to each of the core allegations asserted
against them by the plaintiffs, in that:
a. They assert that the plaintiffs' representative, Mr. Singh, who was also the 100%
owner of the plaintiff Thrive Capital Management Ltd. at the time, was aware of and
approved or acquiesced in the assignment of purchase of the Brampton Property to
1234 Noble (in the place of 9010). Their assertion is based on emails that Mr. Singh
was copied on about this. Thus, they contend that, regardless of what the rationale
was for so doing and whether it was justified, the change in ownership of the Brampton
Property and whatever implications it may have had for the plaintiffs' intended
security for their advances was authorized.
b. Based on an email exchange between lawyers dated June 12, 2019 dealing with a
number of due diligence matters early on, they assert that:
i. it was understood and agreed that the funds provided by the plaintiffs could be
used to pay the $2 million deposit for each property because the June 12, 2019
email chain suggests that this was a possible contemplated use of the plaintiffs'
funds; and
ii. it was understood and agreed that they would receive a development fee of
$1.5 million per project, for a total of $3 million, that they could apply towards
business or personal expenses, at their own discretion;
thereby leaving only $2 million of the $9 million of invested funds to be
accounted for in terms of the alleged permitted uses in connection with the
c. They assert that Mr. Singh's knowledge of and participation in the falsification of
bank records exonerates them from any wrongdoing associated with that, or at least it
raises a sufficient question about their culpability that it must be determined based on
a full and complete evidentiary record at a trial. Anastasio also maintains that he was
completely unaware of this falsification of records as a further defence to the assertion
that the Developer Defendants misappropriation of funds was being covered up
through the falsification of bank records.
[15] The Developer Defendants contend that, unless the court finds their defences to these core
allegations to be blatantly unmeritorious, judgment on the plaintiffs' $9 million claim is not an
appropriate or proportionate sanction for their contempt, whether it has been purged or not. They
maintain that this is not a summary judgment motion and they do not have to "put their best foot
forward" to satisfy the merits aspect of this analysis.
The Position of the Plaintiffs
[16] The plaintiffs maintain that what the Developer Defendants say they have provided does not
align with what they were ordered to provide, nor have they provided evidence to establish that what
they have provided reflects all of the information and documents that they have or could obtain.
Aside from the mis-matching of what was ordered and what has been provided or explained,
Anastasio has also unilaterally adopted a $10,000 materiality threshold for the transactions that he
has attempted to address in his (the fourth) accounting.
[17] The plaintiffs argue that anything less than complete satisfaction of the previous court orders
is not sufficient, unless it is accompanied by evidence of the efforts undertaken to fulfill the Developer
Defendants' obligations and explanations for why those efforts fell short. The plaintiffs say that what
has occurred is deficient. Instead of providing the accounting and other information that they were
ordered to provide approximately two years ago, the plaintiffs maintain that the Developer
Defendants have simply re-packaged disclosures previously made, which Koehnen J. has already
ruled were not sufficient to purge their contempt.
[18] The plaintiffs maintain that the contempt has still not been purged and that there are no
mitigating factors. They are asking for the same sanction as was ordered under the Sentencing
Decision, which includes judgment (in an amount to be determined) plus substantial indemnity costs
of both sentencing hearings and of the action.2 Alternatively, they ask for a six-month jail sentence
for each of Hyman and Anastasio.
[19] The plaintiffs argue that, after undertaking a searching inquiry into the merits of the defences
that the Developer Defendants have indicated they intend to advance, the court should find their
defences to be unmeritorious and that the same outcome as was ordered in the Sentencing Decision
is justified. The plaintiffs point to the incredulity of what the Developer Defendants have identified
in response to the core allegations:
a. Virtually all of what the Developer Defendants assert as to the merits of their defences
relate to the Brampton Property (the project of the 9010 company) and little if anything
2 The Court of Appeal did not overturn the award of costs in favour of the plaintiffs for the motions leading to the original
finding of contempt but did overturn the costs awarded for the original sanction hearing and the action which the plaintiffs
would like reinstated.
is proffered by way of defence to their conduct with respect to the Richmond Hill
project of the 9011 company.
b. The defences raised depend upon alleged unsigned agreements and understandings
said to be derived from email exchanges that are inconsistent with the signed
shareholder agreements and acknowledged protections and security that the plaintiffs
were to receive for their $9 million investment. The defendants maintain that merely
copying a shareholder of one of the companies on emails indicating that title to a
property is to be taken in the name of another company, with no context, discussion,
or credible explanation as to why this needed to be done,3 or about how the agreed
upon security to be given to the plaintiffs would be preserved, cannot amount to an
agreement to change the written contractual arrangements between the parties. The
contract required title to the Brampton Property to be taken in the name of 9010 and
it contained entire agreement clauses and a requirement for amendments to be in
writing.4
c. The June 12, 2019 due diligence email exchange between lawyers refers to the use of
funds advanced by the plaintiffs for deposits by a different bonded development
company, Caliber Development Inc., and refers to development costs (with no
mention of personal expenses) to be paid from the $1.5 million development "fee".
The plaintiffs contend that this is about a different deal than the one entered into and
offends the entire agreement clauses in the signed shareholder agreements between
the parties (for example at paras. 4.4, 5.5, and 7.6), which make no mention of the use
of invested funds for deposits or of any development fees. At best, this email
exchange could only account for a fraction of the funds advanced (the $2 million
deposit and potentially some development fees up to a maximum of $1.5 million, out
of the total $9 million invested). Further, this email does not purport to deal with the
Richmond Hill Property at all.
d. The analysis of the banking records that the plaintiffs have obtained through third
party production (summarized at Appendix B to the plaintiffs' factum) and of the most
recent accountings that have been provided by the Developer Defendants themselves
(summarized at Appendix A to the plaintiffs' factum), although not reconciled with
each other, both demonstrate that the defendants (or parties related to them) received
more than $3.6 million of the plaintiffs' funds (approximately $1.9 million to
3 The plaintiffs say that Hyman first testified that title had to be taken in the name of another company because financing
could not be obtained by a numbered company and then later testified that it was because financing could not be obtained
without a guarantee from Mr. Singh, even though neither he nor the plaintiffs had ever agreed to provide a guarantee.
4 The plaintiffs also contend that Koehnen J. has already found a strong case on this core allegation (failing to put title to
the Brampton Property in the name of 9010 and grant the agreed upon security) in favour of the plaintiffs in his reasons
rendered on July 20, 2020 on the motion relating to the sale of the Brampton Property (at paras. 5-17 and paras. 24, 27,
29, 35, and 36. Also paras. 64-70). Similar arguments are made by the plaintiffs arising from the findings of Koehnen J.
in his April 23, 2020 reasons that the plaintiffs have raised a serious issue to be tried. The plaintiffs suggest that this is a
finding that their claims have merits. These previous findings regarding the merits of the plaintiffs' claims may assist in
the establishment of the plaintiffs' entitlement to judgment, but they do not address the totality of the merits that the Court
of Appeal has indicated must also be considered if judgment is to be granted as a sanction for contempt.
Anastasio and his affiliates and $1.75 million to Hyman and his affiliates). The
defendants now do not deny that they or parties related to them received and used at
least some of these funds for their own personal benefit.
e. If Mr. Singh committed a fraud on the plaintiff companies and their bank that the
Developer Defendants participated in and that assisted them in hiding their own
misconduct, then their participation in that fraud and their misconduct is not excused
or neutralized by someone else's misconduct.
[20] Two years have passed without the proper disclosure and accounting, in the face of the
Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders. The plaintiffs maintain that the Developer
Defendants' persistent and continuing contempt reinforces that the sanction of judgment for the return
of the plaintiffs' $9 million investment is the only option in the circumstances of this case.
[21] Alternatively, and as was sought at the first sanction hearing, the plaintiffs ask the court to
impose the sanction of six-months incarceration upon the individual defendants, Hyman and
Anastasio. The plaintiffs submit that incarceration is appropriate given the blatant, continuing, and
inexplicable failure of the Developer Defendants to comply with the Mareva and Disclosure Order
and the follow-on orders that provided them with detailed guidance about what the court expected of
Have the Developer Defendants Purged their Contempt?
[22] The Developer Defendants contend that they have purged their contempt. That assertion is a
key aspect of their submissions regarding the appropriate sanction for what they would like the court
to find were their past failings, now remedied.
[23] Conversely, the plaintiffs argue that the court need not look hard to satisfy itself that the
Developer Defendants have still, two years after the original Mareva and Disclosure Order, not
purged their contempt. They point to two examples of blatant failures:
a. a $10,000 materiality threshold that was arbitrarily adopted for transaction disclosures
and accounting by Anastasio; and
b. the Developer Defendants' continued abdication of responsibility for attempting to
ascertain what happened to the funds that were paid out of the bank accounts of 9010
and 9011, as they were clearly directed to do under the Mareva and Disclosure Order,
as clarified in the May 19, 2020 Order and Endorsement.
[24] In the latter regard, in his May 19, 2020 endorsement, Koehnen J. elaborated upon what was
expected of the Developer Defendants, directing them to provide a full and detailed accounting of all
funds deposited, withdrawn, paid out of or otherwise removed from the 9010 and 9011 bank accounts.
At para. 8 he stated: "Given these allegations and given that the evidence to support them was strong
enough to warrant an interim Mareva injunction, the plaintiffs are entitled to information about what
was done with money from the accounts referred to in the April 23 order. The plaintiffs are entitled
to information about who the money went to, what it was for and what any defendant recipient did
with that money." The operative language of the ensuing order specified (at para. 4):
"For greater certainty, the accounting shall include detailed, full and
complete information about what was done with the money in the
Accounts, who the money went to, where it was sent, the account it was
deposited into, what it was for and what any recipient did with that
[25] Two years later, this has still not been done. The efforts of the Developer Defendants were
considered by Koehnen J. in his Contempt Reasons when he found that they had not purged this
contempt months later. Very little, if anything, more has been disclosed by the Developer Defendants
to fill in the gaps of the missing information since then.
[26] Some, in my view inexcusable, examples of this persistent non-compliance are found in the
failure to disclose what Hyman's company Hampshire and Associates Incorporated what it did with
the $250,000 in funds that the accounting from Anastasio discloses were received by that company
from the 9010 Royal Bank account. Nor has Anastasio ascertained (or apparently even asked) what
his former spouse has done with the $150,000 that he acknowledges she was paid from the
development bank account(s).
[27] Regardless of whether funds were paid directly to others from the accounts or were paid to
the Developer Defendants and subsequently transferred to others, the Mareva and Disclosure Order
and follow-on orders clearly require the Developer Defendants to account for what happened to those
funds. At the very least, if they do not have direct knowledge about what happened to the funds after
they were received by third parties, the Developer Defendants had an obligation to make reasonable
efforts and inquiries to try to find out what happened to those funds, and to disclose what those efforts
were. Instead, their evidence is clear that they have adopted the contrary position: that it is not up
to them, but rather up to the plaintiffs, to make the inquiries of third party recipients to try to find out
where the funds went.
[28] The importance of the accounting and disclosure about what was done with the funds is
reinforced by the gaps that remain in the most recent fourth and fifth accountings that have been
provided by the Developer Defendants. These confirm that approximately $1.75 million was paid to
Hyman and his company Hampshire and other affiliates, while approximately $1.9 million was paid
to Anastasio or people and entities related to him, for an aggregate total payment out to them of over
$3.6 million.
[29] While not fully reconciled with the fourth and fifth accounting provided by the Developer
Defendants, the plaintiffs' review of the RBC banking records produced also discloses approximately
$3.6 million having been paid to the defendants or their affiliates from these accounts and a further
$5,348,846 having been paid to other recipients (including the $4 million in deposits for the two
property purchases).
[30] Even according to their own understandings, the Developer Defendants appear to have
received approximately $600,000 more than the total of $3 million in development fees that even
they claim to have been entitled to receive. Nor has the use of the funds received by them been
accounted for entirely. Dating as far back as May of 2020, the plaintiffs' representative identified
payments out from the 9010 RBC bank account of $694,842 and from the 9011 RBC bank account
of $849,489 for which the explanations provided by the defendants were, and in many instances
remain, absent or deficient.
[31] The Developer Defendants are correct that the accounting and disclosure exercise is just that
and they do not have to prove the validity of their defences on the merits to satisfy their obligations
under the Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders. However, what the accounting is
supposed to do is provide the information about where the funds went. As Koehnen J. stated
numerous times, the purpose of the accounting that was ordered (and the specific terms that were
directed for compliance) was to enable the plaintiffs to determine what happened to the plaintiffs' $9
million investment. Whether those distributions and uses of the plaintiffs' funds were legitimate or
permitted is a question for another day.
[32] The accounting and tracing exercise that was ordered does not depend upon a finding or proof
of liability; it depends upon the court's finding at the time the Mareva and Disclosure Order (April
24, 2020 endorsement) that:
The spiriting away of the principal assets plus the presentation of forged bank statements and
the alleged failure to provide detailed information about what had occurred with the
investors' funds all creates a serious issue to be tried (at para. 12).
[33] After the Mareva and Disclosure Order was made, further specific findings were made that
the accounting and disclosure provided up to the time of the contempt and original sentencing
hearings was not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Mareva and Disclosure Order and
follow-on orders.
[34] Certain of the noted deficiencies were eventually addressed. However, with respect to the
accounting in particular, what the Developer Defendants appear to have done since the Sentencing
Decision is to improve upon the form, or presentation, of the information and documents already
available in accountings that were previously prepared. They have provided these accountings as
exhibits to their affidavits filed on this motion: the fourth accounting was provided as an exhibit to
Anastasio's responding affidavit dated March 4, 2022 and the fifth accounting was provided as an
exhibit to Hyman's responding affidavit dated March 8, 2022. These were not produced until after
the initial March 1, 2022 re-sentencing hearing had already been adjourned for the first time to March
[35] The fourth and fifth accountings are organized differently and have synthesized previously
available information. However, the previously noted deficiencies were found by the court to be
in respect of the substance, not the form, of the prior accountings. Their substance has not been
materially improved upon since those findings were made. The recently filed evidence describing
these accountings demonstrates why they are lacking:
a. Anastasio describes in his affidavit that the fourth accounting accounts for the
transactions in the five bank accounts over which he had signing authority. He says
his accounting shows the distributions of the plaintiffs' funds out of these bank
accounts and he asserts that the plaintiffs can make inquiries of any other recipients
to find out what happened to the monies that they received. There is no suggestion or
indication that Anastasio has made any effort or attempt to determine what any other
recipient did with the money they received.
b. Hyman describes in his affidavit that the "detailed" fifth accounting that he has
produced was prepared by an accounting professional5 based upon the RBC bank
statements that all parties have for the 9010 and 9011 bank accounts.
information contained in those bank records has been available since the plaintiffs'
compelled their production from the banks early on in this proceeding. Those records
do not assist in the exercise of ascertaining what happened to the funds after they left
those accounts. There is no suggestion that any effort or attempt was made to
determine what any other recipient did with the money they received as part of this
last accounting exercise.
[36] The Developer Defendants added columns purporting to correspond with the ordered
disclosures and referenced previously disclosed documents and information that had already been
clearly and unequivocally ruled to be insufficient by Koehnen J. in his Contempt Reasons and in his
Sentencing Decision, among other places. The latest accountings do not meaningfully address the
previously noted deficiencies. In particular, they do not, contrary to paragraph 4 of the May 19, 2020
endorsement: "include detailed, full and complete information about what was done with the money
in the Accounts, who the money went to, where it was sent, the account it was deposited into, what it
was for and what any recipient did with that money."
[37] Nor does the fact that the plaintiffs have gone to the extra trouble of adding as defendants the
recipients of funds who have been identified largely through the plaintiffs' own efforts relieve the
Developer Defendants from their obligations under the Mareva and Disclosure Order. They are
obligated to account for what happened to these funds, or at least make reasonable efforts to do so,
including efforts to determine what happened to funds that flowed through them and their affiliates
and paid out to others. Their evidence to date gives no indication that they have done this.
[38] Further, some of the plaintiffs' invested funds remain unaccounted for even under the most
recent fourth and fifth accountings that the Developer Defendants have provided. Neither the
unilaterally adopted $10,000 materiality threshold nor any other excuse proffered by the Developer
Defendants relieve them of their obligation to do this.
[39] The Developer Defendants are accused of financial fraud and misappropriation of the
plaintiffs' funds. The plaintiffs satisfied the court that the Mareva and Disclosure Order, an
extraordinary order made at the outset of the proceeding, was appropriate. An accounting and tracing
was required as part of that order. The Developer Defendants have not properly accounted for those
funds in the two years since the Mareva and Disclosure Order was made. The concern about the
delay in compliance is obvious. The purpose of a Mareva order is to prevent asset dissipation pending
trial. Non-compliance defeats that purpose and undermines the court's process.
5 There is an evidentiary dispute about whether this professional was, as Hyman represented, a CPA, but that
designation is not material to this decision.
[40] Some additional disclosure has been provided by the Developer Defendants in other areas
(outside of the accounting), but it was only provided after the Developer Defendants were
admonished for their failure to comply with certain requirements of the Mareva and Disclosure Order.
For example, they do now finally appear to have complied with the requirement that they provide
contact information for the direct recipients of funds from the 9010 and 9011 bank accounts. While
their timing and motivation for so doing does not demonstrate a high level of respect for the court's
process, this aspect of the disclosure obligations now no longer appears to be deficient.
[41] Without going into every example of continuing non-compliance with the Mareva and
Disclosure Order, and even if the Developer Defendants are taken at their word that they do not have
any additional supporting documents to produce as part of the accounting exercise (beyond those
provided, most of which have come from third party production orders obtained by the plaintiffs), a
summary of some other persistent examples are:
a. Hyman acknowledges that he has still not produced the metadata for electronic records
that he promised to provide in a letter dated August 31, 2020. He places the blame
for this on his former lawyer. However, as of the date of the sanction re-hearing, the
metadata had still not been retrieved from the former lawyer and produced.
b. Although the plaintiffs have done a lot of the work for the Developer Defendants
through third-party production motions, there still remain missing bank and credit card
statements that could be obtained from third parties and the evidence about the efforts
of the Developer Defendants to obtain these records is lacking or deficient.
c. The Developer Defendants appear not to have attempted to obtain lost texts or emails
from service providers (to address the most recent excuses of lost or damaged phones
and devices to address these missing records ordered produced).
[42] In reply submissions during oral argument, the court was asked to draw an inference that the
Developer Defendants have made their best efforts to comply with the Mareva and Disclosure Order
and the follow-on orders. They offer no evidence of these efforts to obtain information from third
parties, or the responses they received. I am not satisfied that there is a factual foundation from which
such an inference could be drawn. I decline to do so.
[43] To the contrary, in the absence of any evidence from the Developer Defendants that they do
not have the ability to obtain information and documents from the third parties into whose hands the
plaintiffs' funds were diverted, it is open to me to draw an inference that the Developer Defendants
still have some access to information about these unaccounted for funds, and I do so infer.
[44] The above confirms that two years have passed and the Developer Defendants have,
remarkably, still not fully purged their contempt. They have done too little, too late.
[45] This finding is important to the sanction, which is discussed in the next section. The position
of the Developer Defendants regarding the appropriate sanction is very much tied to their insistence
that they have now finally purged their contempt. The evidence in the record before me does not
support such a finding.
Available Sanctions for Contempt
Analytical Framework for Contempt Sanctions
[46] At the penalty phase of a contempt hearing, courts have a wide discretion. Rule 60.11(5) of
the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.RO. 1990, Reg. 194, provides that the court may make such order as
is just, including that the judge may order the contemnor:
(a) be imprisoned for such period and on such terms as are just;
(b) be imprisoned if the person fails to comply with a term of the order;
(c) pay a fine;
(d) do or refrain from doing an act;
(e) pay such costs as are just; and
(f) comply with any other order that the judge considers necessary,
and may grant leave to issue a writ of sequestration under Rule 60.09 against the person's property.
[47] In the Sentencing Decision, the framework for analyzing contempt sanctions was reviewed
and applied. The Court of Appeal did not overturn the sanction imposed and order this re-sentencing
hearing because of any concern about this part of the analysis by Koehnen J. It is equally applicable
to this re-sentencing hearing. I adopt the following analysis:
Contempt undermines the authority of the court. Serious sanctions are warranted
for contempt because contempt is an attack on our fundamental social order. We organize
our society based on the rule of law. At its most basic level, that means that we do not
allow individuals to resort to violence or coercion to enforce their rights but depend on the
courts to enforce rights. That only works if people obey court orders. People who flout
court orders put our entire system of social order at risk. If a sufficient number of people
simply ignore court orders, people will stop using courts as a peaceful means of resolving
disputes and will begin using coercion and violence. In that light, I cannot understate the
seriousness of the Defendants' continued contempt of court.
The goal in sentencing is to impose a penalty that will be sufficiently serious that
it persuades the Defendants to comply [The Law Society of Upper Canada v. Hatzitrifonos
2018 ONSC 3719 at para. 8] and persuades the general public that it is preferable to comply
with court orders than to ignore them. [Astley v. Verdun, 2013 ONSC 6734, at para. 19,
aff'd 2014 ONCA 668. 2018 ONSC 6631 at para. 44; Pronesti v. 1309395 Ontario Ltd.
2015 ONSC 1139 at para. 34, citing Chiang (Trustee of) v. Chiang 2009 ONCA 3 at para.
11] As the Court of Appeal explained in Boily:
The purpose of a penalty for civil contempt is to enforce compliance with a
court order and to ensure societal respect for the courts […]. The remedy for
civil contempt is designed not only to enforce the rights of a private party
[…] but also to enforce the efficacy of the process of the court itself. [ 2014
ONCA 574 at para. 79. See also Business Development Bank of Canada v.
Cavalon Inc. 2017 ONCA 663]
[48] When considering an appropriate penalty for contempt, the court should consider
(i) the presence of mitigating or aggravating factors;
(ii) the imposition of similar sentences in similar circumstances;
(iii) the deterrence and denunciation of future unlawful conduct;
(iv) the proportionality of the penalty to the wrongdoing; and
(v) the reasonableness of incarceration and the availability of other penalties.
Boily at para. 90; 2008 63236 (ON SC)] at para. 11; Chiang, at para. 88; Astley, at
paras. 41-43; affirmed: 2014 ONCA 668.]
Consideration of Sentencing Factors in this Case
[48] The Developer Defendants put forward a list of seven mitigating factors at the first sanctions
hearing. They were all rejected. At paras. 50 and 53 of the Sentencing Decision, the court had this
to say:
[50] While those may be mitigating factors at law, they do not amount to
mitigating factors here. As noted earlier, the contemnors have not purged
their contempt and have not made legitimate efforts to do so. While this
might be the contemnors first conviction for contempt, they have engaged
in multiple, consecutive acts of contempt over a prolonged period of time.
They have failed to comply with court orders even after being told that
they were in breach and after further endorsements spelled out exactly
what was required to comply. While Messrs. Hyman and Anastasio
purported to apologize at the hearing, the apologies were meaningless,
empty words by which they hoped to avoid the adverse consequences of
their continued contempt.
[53] Messrs. Hyman and Anastasio blatantly and intentionally violated
court orders by continuing their contempt after the breaches were
explained to them and after they were told what they needed to do to
comply. Their contempt continues up to today. There is no remorse
because if there were, they could cure the contempt. They have provided
a string of implausible explanations based solely on bald allegations and
devoid of objective evidence. They have personally profited to the tune
of at least $3,000,000 by continuing to hide what they did with the
plaintiffs' funds. The continued breach caused material harm to the
plaintiffs because it makes their funds ever more difficult to trace and
recover.
At the re-sentencing hearing, the Developer Defendants placed much emphasis on their
claims that they have now finally purged their contempt. However, in my view, the situation remains
virtually unchanged for the intents and the purposes of this re-sentencing hearing insofar as the
accounting is concerned. I have found that any incremental steps taken towards remedying
deficiencies previously noted were insufficient to fully or even materially purge the contempt, and
the very fact that much of the same deficiencies persist is, if anything, a further aggravating factor.
[50] Previous orders required the Developer Defendants to deposit their passports for safekeeping
with their lawyers and did not grant them a living allowance from frozen funds while they were in
default of prior court orders. I do not find, as the defendants have suggested I do, that the terms of
these previous orders are a mitigating factor that warrants any reduction in the sanction for their
contempt. That same argument was made, unsuccessfully, in the Sentencing Decision.
[51] There is no need for me to repeat the rest of the analysis of the factors that were reviewed in
the Sentencing Decision at paras. 54 to 57. The same arguments were advanced at the re-sentencing
hearing and the same analysis applies. The same apologies were offered at the re-sentencing hearing
through their counsel. Their actions speak loudly and demonstrate very little contrition on their parts.
[52] Having considered all of these factors, I have come to the conclusion that the circumstances
of this case warrant an onerous sanction.
[53] This is a re-sentencing of a finding of contempt dating back two years. The plaintiffs have
provided examples of alleged further contempt by the Developer Defendants by their actions or
inactions since the original finding of contempt. There is no clear authority that has been identified
that would allow me to consider the further alleged contempt and a further contempt hearing has not
been held. These subsequent alleged incidents of contempt might be considered aggravating factors.
However, it is not necessary to evaluate and consider these examples of further contempt in my
analysis or decision and I have reached my decision without regard to these further alleged incidents
of contempt.
[54] Civil contempt orders serve a dual purpose. One purpose is practical and focused on the
parties before the court: seeking to ensure that the contemnor complies with relevant court orders. A
sentence for civil contempt is intended to be coercive and persuasive, designed to enforce the rights
of a private party. See Mercedes-Benz Financial v. Kovacevic, 2009 CanLII9423, [2009] O.J. No.
888, at paras. 7-8. The other purpose is focused on the public at large: signaling that the court and its
processes, including court orders, are to be respected.
[55] The Developer Defendants have been given many chances to purge their contempt including
prior to and at the Contempt Hearing, at the first sentencing hearing, at the appeal, and now at this
re-sentencing hearing. While the court's focus still remains on the primary objective of compelling
compliance with the Mareva and Disclosure Order, the deterrence objective cannot be ignored. The
court not only must show the Developer Defendants, but also must show the public at large, that
eventually the chances will run out. Even if there is a tendency to show some leniency in cases of
civil contempt, every case has a breaking point, and it has been reached in this one.
Incarceration for Contempt
In the alternative to their request for judgment on their claim, the plaintiffs ask for a six-
month custodial sentence consistent with the sentences imposed in Sussex Group v. Sylvester (2002),
62 O.R. (3d) 123 and Milligan v. Lech, 2004 CanLll 4792 (Ont. S.C.), aff'd 2006 39457 (Ont.
C.A.) which both involve contempt in a fraud case.
[57] A custodial sentence is reserved for the most serious contempt or where there is no choice but
to jail a contemnor in order to coerce compliance or to express deterrence and denunciation: see
Pronesti, at para. 38; Astley v. Verdun, 2014 ONSC 7136, at paras. 19-20.
[58] The case of Sussex Group v. Sylvester relied upon by the plaintiffs involved a refusal to
produce documents over many months. The Court imposed a sentence of six-months imprisonment
on a first offender who failed to comply with court orders requiring him to produce corporate records.
The Court noted that the contempt was one which continued over a period of many months, the
contemnor showed no remorse, and the contemptuous conduct threatened the assets of the company
and the investments of investors.
[59] These factors are all present in this case. First, for the reasons indicated earlier in this
decision, the court has found that the contempt has continued over a period of many months. Second,
the remorse indicated through counsel, who simply repeated what had been said at the original
sanction hearing, has already been found by this court to have been less than genuine. It is hard to
believe the Developer Defendants are remorseful when they continue to challenge the earlier findings
of this court rather than just do what was ordered. Third, at least some of the plaintiffs' investment
remains at risk of dissipation.
[60] In Milligan, another case relied upon by the plaintiffs, the defendant was accused of fraud and
the Court sentenced the defendant to eight months in prison for failing to produce documents and
attend examinations. In determining the appropriate sentence, the Court considered the defendants'
"open, willful, continuous and flagrant violation of court orders without regard to the effect that may
have on the respect to be accorded to them": Milligan, at para. 2.
[61] Having regard to my earlier conclusion that this is a case that warrants an onerous sanction,
this is one of those cases, like Sussex and Milligan, in which it would be just to impose a penalty of
incarceration even though this case is the first one in which they have been found to be in contempt.
[62] The Developer Defendants submit that to order incarceration, the court must find that a fine
is ineffectual, that incarceration is necessary because of the potential for serious harm or prejudice to
the plaintiffs, and that there is a need for both specific and general deterrence before making an order
for incarceration.
[63] For a fine to be appropriate as a penalty it needs to have some teeth. In a case such as this,
the fine would need to be significant for it to act as an incentive for compliance and as a general
deterrent. The objectives of sentencing will not be served by the "modest" fine that the Developer
Defendants propose of $1,000 to $10,000. This amount does not even meet the materiality threshold
that Anastasio arbitrarily applied to his accounting. If I had ordered a fine, it would have to be a
minimum of $300,000 payable by each of Hyman and Anastasio to be an effective deterrent and to
reflect the seriousness of the remaining unaccounted for funds.
[64] However, the Developer Defendants do not appear to have ready access to funds to pay a fine
in the amount that would be required in this case to achieve the objectives of compliance and
deterrence. Their assets have been frozen. They have indicated that they will borrow from friends
and family to satisfy any modest fine imposed against them. They did so to satisfy the costs awards
against them to date. The objectives of sentencing will not be served by a fine that is unlikely to be
paid by them.
[65] Incarceration is the best remedy to achieve the sentencing objectives for civil contempt, of
coercion and deterrence. The Developer Defendants do not appear to be incentivized to purge their
contempt by the threat of incarceration, which has been hanging over them for the past two years.
However, actually sending them to jail, rather than just threatening it, may cause them to take this
matter more seriously and comply.
[66] I find that the penalty of incarceration will also serve the secondary objectives of both specific
and general deterrence and denunciation of the flagrant and persistent disregard of court orders for
production and disclosure of transactions and dealings that go to the heart of the allegations in this
[67] Hyman submits that incarceration is inappropriate because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They
rely on Borer v. Nelson, 2020 ONSC 4259, at para. 11, which states:
Finally, the court should consider sanctions other than jail: Criminal Code,
s. 718(2) (d) and (e); Sussex Group v. Sylvester, 2002 27188 (ON
SC), [2002] O.J. No. 4350, 62 O.R. (3d) 123 (Sup.Ct.) at paras. 80-82.
This is a particularly relevant consideration given the current COVID-19
health crisis. At a time when public health authorities are prohibiting
gatherings of more than ten people at a time, sending someone to live with
others in a congregated setting should only be done when there is no
reasonable alternative.
[68] That case was decided very early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. More recent cases have not
adopted the same approach when considering the collateral consequences of sentencing: see for
example R v. Milne, 2020 BCSC 2101, at para. 134. I have considered this argument but do not
consider the risk of contracting COVID-19 "at large" to be a collateral consequence that would make
incarceration inappropriate in the absence of any supporting evidence of particular health risks to
these individuals. The same argument was raised at the first contempt sentencing hearing and
Koehnen J. noted that the Developer Defendants had not provided support or back up for their
assertions of medical concerns or issues. There continues to be no evidence of such.
[69] I recognize that incarceration is a penalty of last resort for civil contempt and that Hyman and
Anastasio are first offenders. However, I have determined that no other penalty on its own will be a
sufficient sanction. I have found that the contempt has not been purged, it was serious, and it was
deliberate, or at least demonstrated wilful disregard for the court orders: see Business Development
Bank of Canada v. Cavalon Inc., 2017 ONCA 663, 416 D.L.R. (4th) 269, at paras. 84 and 89.
[70] I have concluded that incarceration is an appropriate sanction for the contempt of the
Developer Defendants. It is proportionate given the many chances that have already been afforded
to the Developer Defendants and their continued attempts to deflect responsibility.
Length of Incarceration
[71] Koehnen J. found in his Sentencing Decision that if the sanction of judgment for the full
amount of the plaintiffs' claim was in error, he would have imposed a six-month jail sentence.
[72] In the Appeal Decision, the Court of Appeal noted this alternative sentence indicated by the
motion judge, but did not adopt, endorse or directly address it. Rather, at para. 36, the Court of
Appeal stated that the matter was being remitted to another judge to determine the appropriate
sanction to be imposed upon the appellants. The court stated that since Koehnen J. has expressed his
views on the appropriate sanction "the better course would be to have a different judge decide what
should follow the finding of contempt, depending on the relief sought and pleaded."
[73] I do not consider this to be a situation that invokes the application of horizontal stare decisis
and I do not consider myself to be bound by the alternative sentence that was suggested by Koehnen
J. of a six-month jail sentence. I have considered the penalty for the Developer Defendants' contempt
afresh as directed by the Court of Appeal.
[74] Cases have been cited by the defendants in which lesser periods of incarceration were the
imposed sanction for civil contempt, such as: Pronesti (30 days); Astley v. Verdun, 2013 ONSC 6734,
118 O.R. (3d) 43, aff'd 2014 ONCA 668 (90 days); and Bush v. Mereshensky, 2007 ONCA 679, 229
O.A.C. 200 (60 days).
[75] In Pronesti, one of the defendants was sentenced to 30 days house arrest and the other was
sentenced to six days in a provincial correctional institution, intermittently. The defendants failed to
mitigate their wrongdoing, did not show remorse, and their contempt of court orders required multiple
attendances. The defendants did provide some information. They were described as having "done
more than nothing": at para. 40. But they did not fulfill the court's orders or show a bona fide effort
to do so with any purpose or urgency.
[76] In Bush, the appellant acted in "flagrant disregard" of court orders" and deliberately and
knowingly breached the court orders. His conduct was found to have gone beyond failing to provide
a full accounting and to include failing to pay money into the court, failing to pay costs orders, and
failing to show up for questioning. He was given a sentence of 60 days imprisonment.
[77] In one of the cases that the plaintiffs assert has a similar factual matrix to this one, in which
defendants claimed that it was unclear what they were required to do to comply with a Mareva order,
and failed to do so, the court struck their statement of defence and sentenced the principal to 90 days
of imprisonment. That sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal: see Trade Capital Finance Corp.
v. Cook, 2017 ONCA 281, at paras. 16, 19-23, leave to appeal refused, 2017 82303.
[78] I have considered the relevant factors including the variable sentences imposed in other cases
of civil contempt involving disclosure failures, the nature and extent of the failures, and the other
factors that existed in those cases. I have concluded that the appropriate period of incarceration for
the past and continuing contempt of the Developer Defendants is a period of 30 days of incarceration
of each of Hyman and Anastasio.
[79] I consider this to be the minimum sentence that will serve the objectives of deterrence,
denunciation, and, most importantly, coercing the Developer Defendants' compliance with the
Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders.
[80] Upon their release, the Developer Defendants will then be given a further opportunity to purge
their contempt once and for all, by making and documenting their efforts to ascertain and account for
what happened to the plaintiffs' funds.
[81] With respect to the accounting exercise, their compliance can either be achieved by: (i)
providing the detailed explanations of what happened to the plaintiffs' money that they were ordered
to provide (e.g. what they themselves spent the funds they received on or, to the extent some of the
funds were used to satisfy project-specific obligations, the details of such and all supporting
documents); or (ii) if they do not themselves have direct knowledge of what happened to the funds
that were paid out of the 9010 and 9011 bank accounts and ended up in the hands of third parties, at
a minimum, they are expected to make inquiries of the recipients of any such funds and to provide
particulars of when those inquiries are made, when they followed-up and any responses received, and
copies of these communications if they are in writing.
[82] With respect to the other compliance deficiencies noted in paragraph 41 herein, the required
steps to purge those should be self-evident.
[83] The Developer Defendants shall deliver their further compliance to the plaintiffs and to the
court by no later than September 7, 2022. They shall appear before me in person on September 14,
2022 at which time I will provide my assessment of whether they have finally sufficiently purged
their contempt. If not, they may at that time be remanded into custody for a further period of
incarceration, and/or default judgment may be granted against them (as provided for in the next
section).
Judgment for Contempt
The Court's Jurisdiction to Award Judgment for Civil Contempt
[84] I have decided to impose a sentence of incarceration for the contempt of the Developer
Defendants. This was the alternative sanction that the plaintiffs requested. The primary sanction that
they asked the court to impose was a judgment on their claim.
[85] The court's jurisdiction to grant judgment as a remedy for contempt is not disputed. The
court's authority to strike out a statement of defence or bar a litigant from filing a defence was
confirmed in the Appeal Decision at paras. 24 and 33.
[86] The court's discretion to make any order as is just upon a finding of contempt under r. 60.11(5)
has been held to permit the court to strike out a party's defence and grant judgment when a party
commits contempt: see Business Development Bank of Canada v. Cavalon Inc., 2016 ONSC 6825,
at para 39, aff'd 2017 ONCA 663, 416 D.L.R. (4th) 269; State Farm Insurance Company v. Brijlal,
2011 ONSC 652; Macklem v. L'Ecuyer, 2010 ONSC 6382.
[87] Rule 60.12 expressly contemplates that the court may strike out a party's defence as one of
the sanctions available in the exercise of the court's discretion. The available sanctions have been
held to include the granting of judgment when a party fails to comply with an interlocutory order:
see also Falcon Lumber Limited v. 2480375 Ontario Inc. (GN Mouldings and Doors), 2020 ONCA
310, at paras. 47 and 79.
The Searching Inquiry About the Merits
[88] In the Appeal Decision, the concern that ultimately led to this re-sentencing hearing was that,
if judgment was to be considered as a possible sanction for the finding of contempt "the moving party
should expect that there will be a more searching inquiry about the merits and that the respondent
will be given an opportunity to respond to the merits": at para. 33. In determining whether to strike
a pleading and grant judgment, the Court of Appeal directed (at para. 34) that the Developer
Defendants should be given some opportunity to respond to the merits of the claims against them.
[89] In his September 30, 2020 endorsement prior to the first contempt sentencing hearing,
Koehnen J. stated that:
The range of possible legal arguments might include that judgment is possible,
that judgment is entirely impossible as a sanction, that judgment cannot be
rendered as a sanction without an adjudication on the merits or any variations
thereof. The point of the sanctions hearing is not, however, to argue the merits.
The defendants are able to argue on the sanctions hearing that judgment on the
merits is not appropriate without an adjudication on the merits. That does not
require them to actually adjudicate the merits.
[90] It was this directive that ultimately led to the Court of Appeal's decision to return this matter
to a re-sentencing hearing.
[91] A significant amount of time was devoted in the parties' written and oral submissions to the
merits of the defences raised by the Developer Defendants (Anastasio in his Statement of Defence
and affidavit and Hyman in his affidavit, by which he asserts the same or similar defences). This was
in response to the directive in the Appeal Decision that there should be a "searching inquiry" about
the merits and that the defendants should be afforded the opportunity to respond to the merits of the
plaintiffs' claims before judgment is granted as a sanction for contempt. That directive from the
Court of Appeal did not provide much guidance as to what the merits test should be.
The plaintiffs have already satisfied this court that there is a serious issue to be tried on the
merits of their claims (in order to obtain and continue the Mareva and Disclosure Order). Both
defendants have nonetheless challenged the merits of the plaintiffs' claims. The defendants have
referred to another action in which the plaintiffs are among the defendants alleged to have
misappropriated investment funds and it is also alleged that the funds at issue in this case do not
belong to the plaintiffs (Riar v. Khudal et al). I have not been taken to any findings on the merits of
that other case and I do not consider its mere existence to detract from the finding already made in
this case that the plaintiffs have raised a serious issue on the merits of their claims in this case. That
was not the subject of any appeal and I do not consider it to be open for reconsideration.
[93] In any event, my interpretation of the "searching inquiry" that the Court of Appeal has
directed be undertaken is that it is to be focussed on the merits of the defences raised in response to
the claims.
[94] The court's examination of the merits of the defences in Koohestani v. Mahmood, 2015
ONCA 56, 124 O.R. (3d) 205, at para. 58, offered the following commentary on two extremes:
First, the action should be examined with particular attention to the merits
of the defence: Bell ExpressVu, at para 36. The pleading and any evidence
relevant to the defence may demonstrate a strong defence supporting the
conclusion that the interests of justice warranted finding another way to
sanction the misconduct. On the other hand, a blatantly unmeritorious
defence may give rise to the inference that the defendant's refusal to
comply with a court order is part of a deliberate strategy to delay a decision
on the merits -- conduct that may justify the imposition of a more severe
sanction.
[95] I agree with the Developer Defendants that the merits threshold for defeating a request for
judgment as a sanction for contempt is low.
[96] The Developer Defendants say that unless the defences they have raised are found to be
blatantly unmeritorious, judgment should not be granted. They suggest that all the court needs to be
satisfied of at this stage is that their defences are not pure fiction based on bald denials. They maintain
that the court need not critically examine the evidence proffered in support of the defences, as long
as there is some evidence. This would require that their defences nonetheless have an air of reality
to them.
[97] Even all that they have asserted is accepted, despite the frailties and incredulities of certain
aspects of their evidence, there is still a gap in their defences which fail to address the entirety of the
plaintiffs' claims. Those are outlined earlier in these reasons. The searching inquiry that I have made
into the defences raised is not very promising from the Developer Defendants' perspective. I agree
with the plaintiffs that, overall, the defences raised by the pleadings and evidence of Developer
Defendants are weak at best. Although some of the defences raised may be more viable than others,
the defences do not credibly deal with the entirety of the plaintiffs' claims; however, but some may
be on slightly stronger footing than others. I would not go so far to say that their defences are all
blatantly unmeritorious, but some may be and others are borderline at best.
[98] While the defences do not raise a strong impetus to serve the interests of justice by finding
some other way to sanction the misconduct (other than by granting judgment), there is enough there
on at least some of the points for at least some of the amounts claimed that I am inclined to allow the
case to be determined on its merits in the normal course if the Developer Defendants can once and
for all demonstrate their compliance with the Mareva and Disclosure Order. However, given the
history of this matter, I am not prepared to give the Developer Defendants a free pass. They are going
to have to demonstrate that they want and deserve this chance by serving their jail sentences and then
purging their contempt once and for all, in the manner that has been provided for earlier in these
reasons.
Striking the Defences/Noting in Default
[99] In Falcon Lumber, at para. 57, the Court of Appeal set out factors the court should consider
when exercising its discretion to strike out a pleading for non-compliance with disclosure and
production obligations:
a. The remedy is not restricted to "last resort" situations;
b. Whether the failure is deliberate;
c. Whether the failure is clear and unequivocal;
d. Whether the defaulting party has a reasonable explanation for its failure to comply;
e. Whether the substance of the default is material;
f. The extent to which the default remains outstanding:
g. The impact on the ability to do justice in the particular case;
h. The merits of the claim or defence may play only a limited role;
i. The extent to which the defaulting party has increased the non-defaulting party's costs;
j. The extent to which the default has delayed an adjudication of the case on its merits.
[100] Most of these factors are present in this case, such as:
a. I have already indicated the reasons for my finding that the contempt has not been
purged.
b. The Developer Defendants have not proffered a credible or consistent explanation for
their past and continuing contempt. After so many opportunities have been afforded
to them, the only reasonable inference is that it is deliberate. They would prefer to be
in default than to disclose what has been ordered of them.
c. Their contempt is clear and unequivocal. If there was any doubt about what was
required of them, it was clearly laid out in the follow-on orders, and they still have not
complied.
d. Their explanations are either lacking entirely, incomplete, or fraught with
inconsistencies. None appear to be reasonable except possibly the assertion that they
do not have any more documents than what have been produced. The production
occurred largely through the plaintiffs' efforts to obtain these documents from third
parties (a state of affairs that will likely not serve them well if they were to try to
defend this case on the merits).
e. The substance of their default is material. The ordered accounting and disclosure goes
to the very heart of the plaintiffs' claims, and the court's ability to do justice in the
f. The delay is prejudicial to the plaintiffs' ability to trace their funds.
[101] These tie into the principled considerations that the Developer Defendants indicate the court's
exercise of its discretion should be predicated on, including consideration of the following:
a. Whether to impose a drastic or some lesser remedy;
b. The impact of the default on the court's ability to do justice;
c. Whether the contemnor has failed or refused to be bound by the rules thereby
abandoning the right of access to the court; and
d. Whether the party remains in default at the time of the sanction hearing.
See Starland Contracting Inc. v. 1581518 Ontario Ltd., 2009 30449 (Ont. Div. Ct.)
[102] The court is at the point where a remedy of last resort is needed for the court to do justice in
this case. A party's failure to fulfill their disclosure obligations under a Mareva order impedes the
ability of our civil justice system to provide fair, timely, and cost-effective adjudication of the merits
of a civil dispute in the same way that defaulting on documentary disclosure and production
obligations does. I do not agree with the Developer Defendant's suggested distinction in this regard
from the principles that were animating the Court of Appeal's decision in Falcon Lumber (at para.
54). Disclosure pursuant to a Mareva order is important, just as discovery disclosure is important.
[103] While I am not bound by Koehnen J.'s findings in the Sentencing Decision (at paras. 67-68)
regarding the existence of these factors, it is not a coincidence that I have found them to exist given
my finding that the Developer Defendants have not purged their contempt.
[104] I have no difficulty in ordering that Anastasio's Statement of Defence be struck. Hyman has
not filed a statement of defence. All of the Developer Defendants remain in default of the Mareva
and Disclosure Order and the follow-on orders. They shall all be deemed to have been noted in
default as of the date of this decision, unless the plaintiffs have previously noted them in default, in
which case the date of the earlier noting in default shall prevail.
[105] The Developer Defendants may apply to the court for leave, in the case of Anastasio to re-file
and in the case of Hyman to file, a Statement of Defence in response to the Statement of Claim against
them (on behalf of themselves and their affiliated companies who comprise the Developer
Defendants) after and only if they purge their contempt by doing the things that have been identified
in paras. 81 and 41(a) to (c) of this decision as still being outstanding.
Default Judgment
[106] If I determine that the Developer Defendants have failed to do what is required of them within
the time that the court affords them following the period (or periods) of their incarceration, the
plaintiffs may move for default judgment. That motion should be booked before me if my schedule
permits.
[107] This approach addresses the request that the plaintiffs made on this motion to come back to
make further submissions on the appropriate amount of the judgment .6 That is something that the
plaintiffs will have to satisfy the court of on a motion for default judgment and that is the appropriate
forum in which to undertake that exercise.
[108] The end result of the sanctions for the contempt of the Developer Defendants may be
judgment against them for the full amount of the plaintiffs' claim. If that result transpires, that is
entirely appropriate and within the court's contemplation and jurisdiction to grant. In the particular
circumstances of this case, I have determined that there are other less extreme sanctions that may
serve the objectives of the court while at the same time permitting the Developer Defendants to
advance their defences, however weak they appear to be. But first, they must purge and be sanctioned
for their contempt (by serving their incarceration time) and demonstrate that they are prepared to pay
the price for their disregard of the court's process before they will be permitted to enjoy that privilege.
Sanction for Contempt in this Case
[109] The following declarations and orders are made:
a. The Developer Defendants have still not purged their contempt. The following remains
outstanding:
Some of the plaintiffs' funds remain unaccounted for.
Although the plaintiffs have indicated that they believe that the record before the court at that time and at this re-
sentencing hearing contains sufficient proof of their damages to enable the court to grant judgment for the full amount
claimed (as was granted in the Sentencing Decision), they have allowed for the possibility that the court may require
them to tender further proof of their damages and propose to establish them in a further hearing. They themselves
suggested that there be a further hearing to determine the appropriate amount of any judgment to be granted to them as
the sanction for their contempt. As a practical matter, if they move for default judgment they will have the opportunity
to prove their entitlement to damages at that time.
Hyman has still not produced the metadata for electronic records that he promised to
provide in a letter dated August 31, 2020.
iii. There still remain missing bank and credit card statements that need to be obtained
from third parties.
The Developer Defendants appear not to have attempted to obtain lost texts or emails
from service providers.
b. I find that incarceration is the appropriate sanction and a fine would be ineffectual. I sentence
Giuseppe Anastasio and Michael Hyman each to serve 30 days in a provincial correctional
institution for their contempt of the Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders,
commencing immediately upon the conclusion of today's hearing.
c. The Developer Defendants remain under the obligation to comply with the Mareva and
Disclosure Order and follow-on orders.
a. With respect to the accounting exercise, their compliance can either be achieved by:
(i) providing the detailed explanations of what happened to the plaintiffs' money that
they were ordered to provide (e.g. what they themselves spent the funds they received
on or, to the extent some of the funds were used to satisfy project-specific obligations,
the details of such and all supporting documents); or (ii) if they do not themselves
have direct knowledge of what happened to the funds that were paid out of the 9010
and 9011 bank accounts and ended up in the hands of third parties, at a minimum, they
are expected to make inquiries of the recipients of any such funds and to provide
particulars of when those inquiries are made, when they followed-up and any
responses received, and copies of these communications if they are in writing.
b. With respect to the other compliance deficiencies noted in paragraph 41 herein, the
required steps to purge those should be self-evident.
d. To that end, upon their release from jail, if they wish to avoid a further period of incarceration
and/or default judgment against them, the Developer Defendants must demonstrate their
compliance with the Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders, and specifically
provide the remaining outstanding accounting and other information as outlined in sub-
paragraph (a) items (i) to (iv) herein. The Developer Defendants shall have until September
7, 2022 to provide evidence to the court that they have done so, and shall return to court to
appear before me in person on September 14, 2022, at which time they may be subject to
further sanction if deficiencies remain.
e. The court may monitor compliance by means of appearances which may be scheduled by the
plaintiffs or by the court on its own initiative.
f. In the meantime,
a. Anastasio's Statement of Defence is struck.
b. All of the Developer Defendants shall all be deemed to have been noted in default as
of the date of this decision, unless the plaintiffs have previously noted them in default,
in which case the date of the earlier noting in default shall prevail.
g. The Developer Defendants may apply to the court for leave, in the case of Anastasio to re-file
and in the case of any others, to file, a Statement of Defence in response to the Statement of
Claim against them (on behalf of themselves and their affiliated companies who comprise the
Developer Defendants) after and only if they purge their contempt by doing the things that
have been identified as still being outstanding.
h. If I determine they have failed to purge their contempt within the time that the court affords
them following the period (or periods) of their incarceration, the plaintiffs may move for
default judgment and/or for a further sanction of incarceration. That motion should be booked
before me if my schedule permits.
i. I direct that a Form 60L Warrant of Committal issue against each of Hyman and Anastasio in
which the last paragraph shall read:
YOU ARE ORDERED TO ARREST Giuseppe Anastasio and Michael Hyman, and
deliver them to a provincial correctional institution, to be detained there for thirty
j. Section 6(1) of the Prisons and Reformatories Act, RSC 1985, c P-20 as incorporated into s.
28 of the Ministry of Correctional Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c M.22 shall apply. That is,
there shall be no remission on the sentence unless or until ordered by the court upon Mr.
Hyman and/or Mr. Anastasio purging their contempt satisfactorily or the full sentence being
served.
k. A copy of this decision shall be attached to the Warrant of Committal.
The Court of Appeal overturned the costs award made under the Sentencing Decision. The
plaintiffs seek the substantial indemnity costs of both the first sentencing hearing and this re-
sentencing hearing. The costs awarded to the plaintiffs in the first Sentencing Decision included
$48,816.31 for the sanction hearing and $109,142.80 for the action.
[111] There was some suggestion of the prospect of further written submissions on costs, but I do
not consider that to be necessary. The court expects the parties to have their costs outlines and be
prepared to address the issue of costs when a motion is argued.
[112] There was no suggestion of any settlement offers that might need to be considered, which
does not surprise me given the nature of this motion. I am going to provide my decision on costs
based on the costs outlines that have been provided. If there is something that is critical to the
determination of costs that has not been drawn to the court's attention and thus not considered, the
parties may arrange a 9:30 a.m. appointment before any order arising out of this decision is finalized.
[113] In their factum, the plaintiffs sought their substantial indemnity costs of the re-sentencing
hearing and the first sentencing hearing. In the Cost Endorsement of Koehnen J. dated May 27, 2020,
it was affirmed that "there is a rebuttable presumption that substantial indemnity costs are appropriate
in a contempt of court case. The presumption may be rebutted where the contemnor is suitably
contrite, has attempted to purge his or her contempt, has taken steps to minimize costs incurred by
the other party, and the contempt itself is towards the lower end of the 'flagrant and wilful" scale'":
Astley, 2013 ONSC 6734, 118 O.R. (3d) 43, at para. 57, aff'd 2014 ONCA 668. These factors that
might mitigate against substantial indemnity costs are not present in this case.
[114] I find that the plaintiffs are entitled to their substantial indemnity costs of this re-sentencing
hearing.
[115] The plaintiffs' costs outline indicates substantial indemnity costs for the re-sentencing hearing
of $57,900. Full indemnity costs are indicated to be $79,240.05
[116] For the short period of time that Hyman's new counsel has been on record, his full indemnity
fees are indicated to be $31,958.20, plus applicable taxes, as stated in the costs outline filed after the
re-sentencing hearing (pursuant to the court's direction). Anastasio's lawyer's costs outline indicates
full indemnity fees of $44,755.63, inclusive of taxes and disbursements.
[117] This is a sanction hearing for contempt. The plaintiffs were more successful than the
Developer Defendants, even if they did not succeed in reinstating the $9 million judgment at this
time. That still remains a possibility and the sanctions ordered are not only more onerous than what
the Developer Defendants were contending for, but reflect a fundamental and continuing failure by
the Developer Defendants to fully purge their contempt.
[118] The quantum of substantial indemnity costs claimed by the plaintiffs is not out of proportion
to the importance of the issues. It also falls within what ought to have been objectively and reasonably
anticipated by the Developer Defendants that they would be ordered to pay if they lost this motion,
given the amount of costs awarded at the first sentencing hearing and given their own costs outlines,
which are each lower, but are higher on a combined basis. The amount of substantial indemnity costs
sought by the plaintiffs is in the range of what I consider to be fair and reasonable in the
[119] In the exercise of my discretion under s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.
C.43, and having regard to the principles under r. 57.01, I am fixing the plaintiffs' substantial
indemnity costs of this re-sentencing hearing at $50,000 and ordering the Developer Defendants to
pay those costs forthwith on a joint and several basis.
[120] In the costs endorsement dated November 24, 2021 (Thrive Capital Management Ltd. V.
Noble 1324, 2021 ONCA 846) the court of appeal permitted the payment of costs awarded for the
Contempt Motion against Developer Defendants ($36,011.97) out of the funds posted for security for
costs of the appeal. To the extent that fund has not otherwise been depleted and is not earmarked for
something else, the costs awarded herein may also be paid out of any such remaining funds posted as
security, with the remaining balance to be paid by Hyman and Anastasio.
[121] The Court of Appeal ordered no costs to either party for the appeal. There shall also be no
costs to either party for the first sanction hearing, that the court of appeal overturned.
[122] As far as I am aware, nothing in particular has happened in the action itself while this
contempt sanction hearing has been pending. The costs of the action awarded by Koehnen J. were
only set aside because the judgment was set aside. If the judgment is reinstated by virtue of the
default proceedings process, then the plaintiffs may seek to recover their costs of the action, including
the costs previously ordered payable by Koehnen J. of $109,142.80 for the action, if and when they
move for default judgment.
[123] This decision and the orders and directions contained in it shall have immediate effect as an
order of this court without the necessity of the formal issuance and entry of an order, although any
party may take out a formal order if so advised by following the procedure under Rule 59 of the Rules
of Civil Procedure.
CITATION: Thrive Capital Management Ltd. v. Noble 1324 Queen Inc.
) HEARD: May 3, 2022 and July 12, 2022
ADDENDUM TO JULY 12, 2022 REASONS FOR DECISION - CONTEMPT
Upon the reading of my oral reasons for decision and the distribution of my written reasons
for decision in this matter, further submissions were made by counsel for the defendants Michael
Hyman and Giuseppe Anastasio regarding their ability to purge their contempt in the time that had
been afforded to them in my decision, following their release from jail. A request was made for
their sentences to be served intermittently, on weekends, to enable their compliance by the court's
specified deadline of September 7, 2022.
Plaintiffs' counsel argued that the time following the period of incarceration, coupled with
steps that could be taken while they were incarcerated, should be sufficient and that this further
accommodation should not be afforded to them.
3. After hearing and considering the submissions of all counsel present, and having regard to
what still remains the primary objective of my sanction order, which is for compliance with the
Mareva and Disclosure Order and follow-on orders, I amended the Warrants of Committal signed
today to allow for the 30 day sentences imposed upon Michael Hyman and Giuseppe Anastasio to
be served intermittently, on weekends.
This will afford an additional almost two weeks of time for the Developer Defendants to
address the noted deficiencies in their compliance and that time will be predominantly during
business days which should further enhance their productivity. I agree with the submission of
counsel for Mr. Hyman that during the periods of incarceration, the ability of Mr. Hyman and Mr.
Anastasio to fulfill their obligations will be substantially impaired. This has been taken into
consideration in my decision to accede this request for an intermittent sentence.
I indicated orally in court, and reiterate, that the quid pro quo for this accommodation is that
the court will not look favourably upon any request by the Developer Defendants in September,
2022 for additional time to purge their contempt. They are expected to make diligent efforts
between now and the September 7, 2022 deadline indicated in my Reasons for Decision and to
provide evidence of those efforts if they are not able to fulfill their obligations by that deadline.
This is of particular importance to Mr. Anastasio who may be retaining new counsel in the interim.
THRIVE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD., THRIVE
UPLANDS LTD., 2699010 ONTARIO INC. and
2699011 ONTARIO INC.
NOBLE 1324 QUEEN INC ., MICHAEL HYMAN,
GIUSEPPE ANASTASIO, DAVID BOWEN, NOBLE
DEVELOPMENTS CORPORATION, HAMPSHIRE
AND ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED, LISA SUSAN
ANASTASIO, RAJEREE ETWAROO CON-STRADA
CONSTRUCTION GROUP INC.


Parametric Multiple Sequence Alignment and Phylogeny Construction (with David Fernandez-Baca and Timo Seppalainen); Journal of Discrete Algorithms, 2, (2004), pp. 271-287.
Ranking Participants in Generalized Tournaments (with Oscar Volij); International Journal of Game Theory 33(2)(2005), pp. 255-270.
Scoring of Web Pages and Tournaments � Axiomatizations (with Oscar Volij); Journal of Social Choice and Welfare 26(1)(2006), pp. 75-92.
Clearing a Polygon with Two 1-searchers (with Boris Simov and Steven LaValle); International Journal of Computational Geometry and Applications (IJCGA) to appear.
Incentive-Driven P2P Anonymity System: A Game-Theoretic Approach (with S. Ray and Zhang Zhao) 2007 International Conference on Parallel Processing (ICPP 07), September 2007, XiAn China.
A Semantic Importing Approach to Knowledge Reuse from Multiple Ontologies (with J. Bao and V. Honavar); Proceedings, 22-nd Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2007), Vancouver, British Columbia, July 22�26. pp. 1306-1309.


Dom Hemingway is an upcoming British black comedy crime drama feature film directed and written by Richard Shepard. The film stars Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Demián Bichir, Emilia Clarke, Jumayn Hunter, Madalina Ghenea and Kerry Condon. It is scheduled to be shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.


text:
Q: How to avoid appengine search QueryErrors resulting from syntax errors in the query string? When I enter "I am searching for an entire stringoni google, it doesn't barf up an error at me. Instead, it tries to guess what I mean. What's the best way to make sure that whatever the user enters as a query, they'll always get something (preferably something usefu) back when their query is passed into search.Index("myIndex").search()?

A: Well, there's no easy way to do that out of the box.
What Google does is running very complex algorithms to infer not only what you said, but "what you actually meant". This of course is a very complex problem to solve, and certainly not something you can do by simply flipping a switch.
One thing that you can do though, is to start using the ~ character in your searches. This is called "Stemming":

To search for common variations of a word, like plural forms and verb
  endings, use the ~ stem operator (the tilde character). This is a
  prefix operator which must precede a value with no intervening space.
  The value ~cat will match "cat" or "cats," and likewise ~dog matches
  "dog" or "dogs." The stemming algorithm is not fool-proof. The value
  ~care will match "care" and "caring," but not "cares" or "cared."
  Stemming is only used when searching text and HTML fields.

There are a bunch other stuff you can do to make your searches "smarter". Check the following link:
https://developers.google.com/appengine/docs/python/search/query_strings

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange