The Ontario appeal court has denied leave to appeal to former Coventree Inc. founders who had sought to overturn sanctions levied on them by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
The Court of Appeal for Ontario indicated Wednesday that it has denied motions seeking leave to appeal a Divisional Court decision that went against former Coventree founder, president and CEO, Geoffrey Cornish, and founder, director, and officer of the firm, Dean Tai, earlier this year.
The lower court upheld sanctions levied on the pair, and the firm, by the OSC for the investment bank’s role in the collapse of the non-bank sponsored asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) market in 2007. (See Investment Executive, Court dismisses appeals by former Coventree execs, March 21, 2013.)
In September 2011, the OSC found that Cornish and Tai violated disclosure rules when they failed to inform the market about material changes in the ABCP market before that market ultimately failed.
The OSC ordered Cornish and Tai to pay penalties of $500,000 each, reprimanded them, and imposed one year bans from serving as directors or officers.
In court, the pair sought to set aside the commission’s orders. However, the appeal court dismissed the appeals on the grounds that the OSC’s conclusions were reasonable.