Key Issues & Rulings

1. Stay of Proceedings for Abuse of Process

   • Castillo sought a stay of proceedings, arguing Peninsula failed to immediately disclose settlement agreements with three co-defendants (Crawford, Saclayan, and Mathews), who agreed to assist Peninsula.
   • The court reaffirmed that any settlement altering adversarial positions must be disclosed immediately. Delays of 8 and 12 days breached this rule.
   • Citing Handley Estate v. DTE Industries Ltd., Tallman Truck Centre Ltd. v. K.S.P. Holdings Inc., and others, the court ruled that failure to disclose amounted to an abuse of process.
   • The entire action was permanently stayed.

2. Access to Seized Documents Under Anton Piller Order

   • Peninsula had seized 1-4 million documents from Castillo’s residence under an Anton Piller Order.
   • Castillo argued the Independent Supervising Solicitor (ISS) provided files in an unusable format, omitting metadata.
   • The court found that the ISS failed to comply with disclosure obligations. Had the action not been stayed, the ISS would have been ordered to properly list and produce the documents with metadata.

Outcome

• The action was permanently stayed due to delayed disclosure of settlement agreements.
• Cost submissions were invited.
• No damages or monetary compensation were granted.