Arnuco (Bankrupt), Re, 2015 MBQB 36

• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: February 27, 2015
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: 2015 MBQB 36;(2015), 316 Man.R.(2d) 55 (QB Reg.)

Arnuco (Bankrupt), Re (2015), 316 Man.R.(2d) 55 (QB Reg.)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2015] Man.R.(2d) TBEd. MR.026

In The Matter Of The Bankruptcy Of Ramon Presbitero Arnuco

AutoCanada Winnipeg C Motors LP carrying on business under the firm name and style of Eastern Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (applicant) v. BDO Canada Limited as Trustee of the Estate in Bankruptcy of Ramon Presbitero Arnuco (respondent)

(BK 14-01-03508; 2015 MBQB 36)

Indexed As: Arnuco (Bankrupt), Re

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench

Winnipeg Centre

Sharp, Registrar

February 27, 2015.

Summary:

The car dealership's interest in a vehicle leased to the bankrupt was registered in the Personal Property Security Registry using the bankrupt's full name, rather than his name as shown on his Canadian citizenship documentation. The trustee disallowed the dealership's claim regarding the vehicle on the basis that it had not perfected its security interest. The dealership appealed from the disallowance.

A Registrar of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the appeal.

Bankruptcy - Topic 3652.1

Creditors - General - Priorities - Unperfected or unregistered security interest v. trustee - [See Personal Property - Topic 6082 ].

Personal Property - Topic 6082

Security interests - Registration - Validity of - Name of debtor - The car dealership's interest in a vehicle leased to the bankrupt was registered in the Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR) using the bankrupt's full name, rather than his name as shown on his Canadian citizenship documentation - The trustee disallowed the dealership's claim regarding the vehicle on the basis that it had not perfected its security interest - The dealership appealed from the disallowance - A Registrar of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the appeal - If a registration in the PPSR did not match the exact specification in the rules, either as to name or to the vehicle's serial number, the registration was invalid - It was irrelevant whether any searches were or were not reasonable - A registration that was invalid or not perfected rendered the security interest ineffective against the trustee under s. 20(b)(i) of the Personal Property Security Act - The irregularity in registration deprived the lessor of its ownership rights.

Personal Property - Topic 6090

Security interests - Registration - Validity of - Material misdescriptions or omissions - [See Personal Property - Topic 6082 ].

Personal Property - Topic 6214

Security interests - Priorities - Trustee in bankruptcy - [See Personal Property - Topic 6082 ].

Cases Noticed:

Lambert (Bankrupt), Re (1994), 74 O.A.C. 321 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 18].

Hoskins (Bankrupt), Re (2014), 346 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 119; 1078 A.P.R. 119 (N.L.T.D.(G.)), refd to. [para. 18].

GMAC Leaseco Ltd. v. Moncton Motor Home & Trailer Sales Inc. (Bankrupt) (2003), 257 N.B.R.(2d) 141; 674 A.P.R. 141 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 22].

Sifton Credit Union Ltd. v. Barber et al. (1986), 41 Man.R.(2d) 295 (Q.B.), dist. [para. 28].

McCormick (Bankrupt), Re (1996), 114 Man.R.(2d) 180 (Q.B. Master), dist. [para. 28].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Macpherson, D.L. and Brown, E.D., Fraud and Knowledge of a Pre-Existing Security Interest under the Personal Property Security Act: Guidance from Other Jurisdictions for Manitoba Courts and Practitioners (2011), 35 Man. L.J. 201, paras. 1, 17, 38 [para. 30].

Macpherson, D.L. and Brown, E.D., "Billy, Don't You Lose My Number": Law Reform With Respect to the Serial Numbered Goods Regime Under the Manitoba PPSA (2013), 37 Man. L.J. 267, generally [paras. 29, 31].

Counsel:

David R.M. Jackson, for the applicant;

Peter Sim, for BDO Canada Ltd.

This appeal was heard by Sharp, Registrar, of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Winnipeg Centre, who delivered the following judgment on February 27, 2015.