Background:
Lorne Harder, through Springhill Investments Ltd. and Harder Investments Ltd., loaned $6,308,050 (Cascadero Loan) and $4,000,000 (Pangaea Loan) to InCor Holdings Limited and indirectly to Pangaea Resources Limited, both controlled by Jocelyn Bennett and George Molyviatis. The loans were overdue, and promised securities and interest were not delivered.

Legal Issues and Arguments:

• Cascadero Loan: The defendants claimed it was an open-ended credit facility, but the court found it to be a short-term loan repayable on demand after December 31, 2021.

• Pangaea Loan: While InCor Holdings signed the promissory note, the court held Pangaea liable as a party based on Bennett’s representations and Pangaea’s benefit from the loan.

• Contempt: Bennett, Molyviatis, and Pangaea failed to comply with Justice Milman’s disclosure order, leading to a contempt declaration.

Judgment and Costs:

The court awarded Harder:

• $6,308,050 for the Cascadero Loan (InCor Holdings)

• $2,000,000 plus AU$200,000 interest for the Pangaea Loan (jointly and severally against InCor Holdings and Pangaea).

Bennett, Molyviatis, and Pangaea were ordered to post security for good behavior totaling $8,858,050, capped at $2,050,000 for Pangaea. The plaintiffs received special costs for the contempt application due to the defendants’ “reprehensible” behavior.