Landmark decision on forced contractual assignment and ipso facto clauses: Hudson’s Bay Company ULC et al.
In a case that captured the public’s attention throughout 2025, eight objecting landlords successfully opposed HBC’s proposed sale of 25 of its most consequential leases to Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp (Central Walk)1. This dispute tested the boundaries of section 11.3 of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the ability to force contractual assignments over the objection of solvent counterparties. The Court also provided an important ruling on ipso facto clauses as applied to contractual rights that are consensually altered by the parties before the commencement of CCAA proceedings. In this case, it…