Midas Equipment Ltd. v. Zellers Inc. and 627318 Ontario Ltd., (1991) 114 A.R. 58 (QB)

• Judge: MacLeod, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: March 28, 1991
• Citations: (1991), 114 A.R. 58 (QB)

Midas Equipment Ltd. v. Zellers Inc. (1991), 114 A.R. 58 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Midas Equipment Ltd., carrying on business under the firm name and style of Roll-X Coin Wrap (plaintiff) v. Zellers Inc. and 627318 Ontario Limited, carrying on business under the firm name and style of Cash Rolls of Canada (defendants) and 627318 Ontario Limited, carrying on business under the firm name and style of Cash Rolls of Canada (third party)

(Action No. 8901-04047)

Indexed As: Midas Equipment Ltd. v. Zellers Inc. and 627318 Ontario Ltd.

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Calgary

MacLeod, J.

March 28, 1991.

Summary:

The plaintiff coin wrap manufacturer brought an action against a former customer (Zellers) and a competitor (Cash Rolls) for (1) passing off, (2) breach of confidence, good faith and fiduciary duty, (3) breach of the Competition Act and Trade Marks Act and (4) breach of contract, or, alternatively, negligent misstatement.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the action.

Equity - Topic 3904

Fiduciary or confidential relationships - Breach of confidence - Elements of action for - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that a plaintiff claiming breach of confidence must prove that the information was confidential (not public property and knowledge), that the information was imparted to the defendant in confidence and that the defendant used that information without authorization to the plaintiff's detriment - See paragraphs 46 to 51.

Torts - Topic 5141

Interference with economic relations - Unfair competition - Passing off - General - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the common law tort of passing off involved misrepresentations by one trader which damaged the good will of another - The court referred to the statement that "the misrepresentation in passing off is almost always conveyed by the defendant adopting for his own goods or business some material such as a name, mark, get-up or other indicia which is deceptively similar to material distinctive of the plaintiff" - See paragraph 31.

Torts - Topic 5144

Interference with economic relations - Unfair competition - Passing off - Deception of customers - Requirement of - Roll-X and Coin Rolls both marketed packaged coin wraps with identical logos - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dismissed Roll-X's claim for passing off - The court stated that no one "with reasonable apprehension and proper eyesight" would be deceived - The size, shape and transparent packaging were common to mass merchandising of small articles - The two headers were distinguishable - The logos were the same, but their small size and location made their effect insignificant.

Cases Noticed:

Nationwide Building Society v. Nationwide Estate Agents, [1987] F.S.R. 579, refd to. [para. 22].

Weingarten Bros. v. Charles Bayer & Co. (1905), 22 R.P.C. 341 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 33].

Mr. Submarine Ltd. v. Emma Foods Ltd., 34 C.P.R.(2d) 177, refd to. [para. 35].

Asbjorn Horgard A/S v. Gibbs/Nortac Industries Ltd. et al. (1987), 80 N.R. 9; 14 C.P.R.(3d) 314 (F.C.A.), refd to. [para. 37].

Canadian Converters' Co. Ltd. v. Eastport Trading Co. Ltd. (1968), 70 D.L.R.(2d) 149, refd to. [para. 37].

Aubanel and Alabaster Ltd. v. Aubanel (1949), 66 R.P.C. 343, refd to. [para. 38].

Stannard v. Reay, [1967] R.P.C. 589, refd to. [para. 38].

Payton & Co. Ltd. v. Snelling, Lampard & Co. Ltd, [1900] A.C. 308 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 39].

Prairie Maid Cereals Ltd. v. Christie Brown & Co. Ltd. (1966), 58 D.L.R.(2d) 186 (B.C.C.A), refd to. [para. 40].

Cadbury Schweppes Pty. Ltd. and others v. Pub Squash Co. Pty. Ltd., [1981] 1 All E.R. 213 (P.C.), refd to. [para. 41].

Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd., [1969] 2 R.P.C. 41 (Ch. D.), refd to. [para. 46].

Saltman Engineering Co. Ltd. and Others v. Campbell Engineering Co. Ltd., [1963] 3 All E.R. 413 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 47].

Promotivate International Inc. v. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. et al. (1985), 53 O.R.(2d) 9 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 49].

International Corona Resources Ltd. v. LAC Minerals Ltd. (1989), 101 N.R. 239; 36 O.A.C. 57; 61 D.L.R.(4th) 14 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 52].

R. v. Imperial Optical Co. Ltd. (1972), 7 C.P.R.(2d) 146 (Ont. Prov. Ct.), refd to. [para. 55].

R. v. Canadian Tire Corp., Ltd. (1986), 14 C.P.R.(3d) 372 (Man. Prov. Ct.), refd to. [para. 55].

Statutes Noticed:

Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34, sect. 36(1), sect. 52(1)(a) [para. 54].

Trade Marks Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. T-13, sect. 7(d), sect. 53 [para. 54].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Ellis, Fiduciary Duties in Canada, pp. 1-1 to 1-8 [para. 38].

Fox, H.G., The Canadian Law of Trade Marks and Unfair Competition (3rd Ed. 1972), pp. 92-93, 323-326, 499-500, 503-507, 517-519, 555-560 [para. 38].

Fridman, Introduction to the Law of Torts, pp. 203-214 [para. 38].

Gurry, Breach of Confidence (1984), pp. 65-85 [para. 38].

Hughes on Trade Marks (1984), pp. 363, 370-371 [para. 38].

Sopinka and Lederman, The Law of Evidence In Civil Cases, pp. 535-537 [para. 38].

Wadlow, The Law of Passing Off (1990), pp. 1-4 [para. 31].

Young, David, Passing Off (2nd Ed. 1989), pp. 2-6, 137-142 [para. 38].

Counsel:

C.D. O'Brien (Bennett Jones Verchere), for the plaintiff;

D.J. McDonald and J.T.R. Miller (MacKimmie Matthews), for the defendant, Zellers;

V.P. Lalonde (Blake, Cassels & Graydon), for the defendant/third party, Cash Rolls.

This action was heard before MacLeod, J., of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Calgary, who delivered the following judgment on March 28, 1991: