Superior Court Upholds Decision of Ontario Securities Commission

Toronto - The Ontario Securities Commission announced today that the Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) has released its decision and reasons, dismissing an appeal brought by Jeffrey Robinson, Peter Robinson and Terence Edward Robinson.

In May of 1996, after one of the longest hearings in OSC history, the Commission found that a number of individuals had engaged in a deliberate and contrived scheme involving manipulative or deceptive trading activities in relation to the securities of three public companies. The principal respondent was Jeffrey Robinson, who was a registered broker at the time. In June of 1996, the panel ordered that various exemptions contained in Ontario securities law would no longer apply to the individual respondents for periods ranging from seven years to life.

Robinson's brother and father were among the other respondents. Those three individuals appealed the Commission's decision.

The appellants claimed that the proceeding against them before the Commission ought not to have continued after the death of one of the three panel members. The appellants also claimed that the Commission had applied an incorrect standard of proof, that the evidence did not support the conclusions reached, and that the reasons delivered by the Commission were insufficient.

The Divisional Court found no merit in any of the grounds of appeal raised by the appellants.

Reference: Frank Switzer
Manager, Corporate Relations
(416) 593-8210

Michael Watson
Director, Enforcement Branch
(416) 593-8156