University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professor Rod Wood provided an update on key personal property security law cases from the past year at an April 6, 2016 meeting of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Creditor and Debtor Law Section (North) in Edmonton.
During his talk, Professor Wood explored two fundamental issues that the courts are presently tackling. The first is whether a bank can take a security interest in its own indebtedness to its customer. At one time it was thought that this was not possible, but more recently cases have shifted direction. The most recent issue is whether an agreement for a security deposit/prepaid rent gives rise to a security interest that must be registered under provincial personal property security legislation.
The second issue concerns the contractual interpretation of security agreements. A security agreement will often be cast in very wide terms so as to give the creditor a security interest in all assets to secure all liabilities. In several instances, courts have held that, despite this wide language, the parties did not intend that the security interest cover every asset or secure every obligation.
CBA members in Alberta who are interested in future events are invited to visit the Events page of the CBA Alberta Branch website for more information.