The Guzzo family, owner of Cinémas Guzzo, will be determined in the coming days as to the fate reserved for their businesses and the real risk that an interim receiver will be urgently appointed to take control.
Also read: Vincenzo Guzzo fights for control of his company
“I am putting the matter under advisement and I can assure you that I am sensitive to the current situation,” Judge Michel A. Pinsonnault of the Superior Court declared Wednesday after hearing the pleadings of the two main parties involved.
“I will do my best to render a judgment as quickly as possible,” he continued. And [c’est] capitalized [lorsque j’affirme] as quickly as possible.”
In happier times, in 2019, when Vincenzo Guzzo, current president of the Guzzo Group, was tipped to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
TOMA ICZKOVITS/AGENCE QMI
The court was in its second day of hearings on Wednesday following a motion filed at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse last week by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
CIBC has lost patience
The Toronto financial institution, which estimates the Guzzo Group’s shortfall to it at some $38.6 million, is asking the Superior Court of Quebec to intervene urgently by ordering the appointment of an interim receiver , under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA).
The Guzzo Group’s lawyer, Eric Lalanne, argued in his defense that there was no “danger in the house” and that nothing suggested “imminent danger” than the bank’s securities (the assets) within the group, “disappear or suffer significant losses”.
«Oui [Vincenzo] Guzzo may be a cavalier. Yes, Guzzo may be difficult in his relationships,” his lawyer agreed. But nothing would justify, he continued, for the Court to accede to such a request at this time.
Risk of dismantling
In the event that the judge nevertheless approves this request from CIBC, Dominic Deslandes, of Raymond Chabot, would be granted sufficient powers to access all of the company’s financial data and take control of the company’s activities. , and – if necessary – carry out layoffs.
These powers would be granted to him for an initial period of thirty days, or until possession of the property by a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy, under the BIA or the Creditors Arrangement Act. companies (LACC). The sale of assets or the dismantling of the company could then follow.
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