What do I have to do if I cancel my court case because I made a deal with a competitor?

The situation

I am running a small logistics firm in Ontario and I have been involved in a long, stressful dispute regarding a shared shipping route. Back in January, I filed an application with the Tribunal to resolve some issues regarding how our local area is managed. However, things changed last week. On October 12th, my main competitor and I finally sat down and reached a formal settlement. We signed a written agreement that outlines how we will split the labour and resources for the upcoming winter season to avoid further conflict. This new deal basically makes my ongoing application to the Tribunal unnecessary, so I intend to drop the case entirely. I have already spoken to my business partner about this, and we are ready to move forward with our new arrangement. My main concern is the paperwork involved after signing. Since we officially entered into this new contract on October 12th, am I required to send a copy of this signed document to the government regulator? I am worried about missing a deadline or failing to notify the right authorities now that I am abandoning my previous legal claim in favour of this private deal.

Detailed Analysis

Since you are discontinuing your application to the Tribunal because you reached a formal settlement with your competitor, you fall under specific rules regarding the service of agreements. Under the Competition Act, if a person who has been granted leave (permission from the court to proceed) to make an application to the Tribunal decides to stop that application because they have entered into an agreement with someone else, there is a mandatory notification requirement.

The law states that "the parties to the agreement must serve a copy of it on the Commissioner within 10 days after the day on which it was entered into"^[1]. This means that both you and your competitor are responsible for ensuring the Commissioner receives a copy of your signed document. Since you signed your agreement on October 12th, your deadline to complete this step is October 22nd^[1].

It is important to note that even after you provide the document, the Commissioner has the power to intervene. The law allows for the possibility that the "Tribunal may vary or rescind the agreement if it finds that the agreement has or is likely to have anti-competitive effects"^[1]. An anti-competitive effect refers to actions that might unfairly reduce competition in your market, such as your new arrangement for splitting labour and resources. While your goal is to avoid conflict, the government regulator will review the deal to ensure it doesn't harm the broader shipping route market.

State, provincial, or local laws may add further rules regarding business settlements or regulatory filings, so you should check local Ontario business regulations.

Statutory Citations

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