B.C. Appeal Court upholds dismissal of IIROC suit

A B.C. court has upheld a 2019 decision that rejected a suit against the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

The suit had alleged that the self-regulatory organization acted unfairly in bringing disciplinary action against a former rep.

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia dismissed the appeal by Scott Lower, a former rep with Global Securities Corp, who alleged that IIROC breached its contract with him and acted in bad faith when it disciplined him back in 2009.

Lower also alleged that IIROC acted in bad faith when it published a news release in 2016 announcing that the B.C. Securities Commission had dismissed Lower’s bid for a review of the IIROC decision against him.

In 2019 the Supreme Court of B.C. ruled that the bulk of Lower’s lawsuit should be dismissed because it exceeded the limitation period. It also ruled that publishing a news release is consistent with IIROC’s mandate to protect investors and market integrity.

In the 2022 decision, released Wednesday, the Appeal Court ruled that the Supreme Court judge had not erred in her ruling and dismissed the appeal.

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