D. Geoffrey Orrell — November 1, 2004

Professional Conduct Decision

What is a professional conduct decision?

An investigation into a Licensed Insolvency Trustees (LIT)'s professional conduct is initiated when there is information to suggest that the LIT has not properly performed the duties of a trustee or there has been improper administration of an estate or lack of compliance with the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA).

In some cases, the findings are sufficiently serious to support a recommendation for sanctions against the LIT's licence (cancel or suspend a LIT's licence (subsection 13.2(5) of the BIA) or impose conditions or limitations (subsection 14.01(1) of the BIA)).

The professional conduct decision is deemed to be a decision of a federal board, commission or tribunal and may be judicially reviewed by the federal court.

Trustee Licence Limitation Order Issued
Under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act

In the Matter of D. Geoffrey Orrell,
a Licensed Trustee For the
Province of British Columbia

Whereas Mr. D. Geoffrey Orrell, licensed Trustee, has operated in the Province of British Columbia since 1991;

Whereas the Senior Analyst, Professional Conduct (Senior Analyst) of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) has submitted a Report (the Report) on the administration of D. Geoffrey Orrell, Trustee, pursuant to a general delegation under subsection 14.01(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act ((BIA));

Whereas the Report identifies a number of deficiencies where the Trustee has failed to fulfil his statutory duties in respect of the administration of the consumer proposal of John Geraint Davies and April Violet Davies, including:

  1. The Trustee, having accepted an appointment to act in relation to the cited Estate and perform the duties required of a trustee until he is discharged or another trustee is appointed, failed to perform his duties in that regard, contrary to subsection 14.06(1) of the (BIA) and Rule 36 of the Code of Ethics for Trustees;
  2. The Trustee, in failing to perform those duties, failed to investigate, or cause to be investigated, the property and financial affairs of the debtors, contrary to paragraph 66.13(2)(a) of the (BIA) and Rule 36 of the Code of Ethics for Trustees;

Whereas the Trustee has acknowledged that he acted improperly in the administration of this estate, by relying upon another licensed Trustee to investigate the property and financial affairs of the debtors and permitting that Trustee to administer the estate without having been properly substituted;

Whereas the Trustee has acknowledged the facts set out in the Senior Analyst's report and does not wish to contest them;

Whereas the parties have jointly drafted and submitted to me the proposed text of the present decision, duly approved by them in writing, and have requested that I issue an order accordingly;

Whereas in the specific circumstances of this case the proposed draft appears to be reasonable, and there does not seem to be any reason to derogate from it;

For These Reasons:

I, the undersigned Delegate of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, by virtue of the powers delegated to me under section 14.01 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, hereby Order:

That the trustee licence held by D. Geoffrey Orrell be limited for a period of two (2) months from the date this Order comes into force, during which time the Trustee shall not be appointed in any new bankruptcies, proposals or receiverships or act as an interim receiver, and shall be limited to administering estates to which the Corporate Trustee has been appointed prior to the coming into force of this Order.

That in the event the Trustee does not comply with the Order herein, the Trustee shall be in default pursuant to paragraph 13.2(5)(b) of the Act.

That this Order will come into force three business days after it is signed.

Signed at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, this .

The Honourable Perry Meyer, Q.C.
Delegate


This document has been reproduced as submitted by the delegate of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.