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Legal Actions
6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Legal Actions
15. Legal Actions

 

IGM Resources Corp vs. Deep Well Oil & Gas, Inc., et al

 

On March 10, 2005, I.G.M. Resources Corp. (“the Plaintiff”) filed against Classic Energy Inc., 979708 Alberta Ltd., Deep Well Oil & Gas, Inc., Nearshore Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Steven P. Gawne, Rebekah Gawne, Gawne Family Trust, 1089144 Alberta Ltd., John F. Brown, Diane Lynn McClaflin, Cassandra Doreen Brown, Elissa Alexandra Brown, Brown Family Trust, Priority Exploration Ltd., Northern Alberta Oil Ltd. and Gordon Skulmoski (“the Defendant”) a Statement of Claim in the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta Judicial District of Calgary. This suit is a part of a series of lawsuits or actions undertaken by the Plaintiff against some of the other above defendants.

 

The Plaintiff was and still is a minority shareholder of 979708 Alberta Ltd. ("979708"). 979708 was in the business of discovering, assembling and acquiring oil and gas prospects. In 2002 and 2003, 979708 acquired oil and gas prospects in the Sawn Lake area of Alberta. On or about the 14th of July, 2003, all or substantially all the assets of 979708 were sold to Classic Energy Inc. The Plaintiff claims the value of the assets sold was far in excess of the value paid for those assets. On April 23, 2004, Northern purchased Classic Energy Inc.'s assets, some of which are under dispute by the Plaintiff. On June 7, 2005, Deep Well acquired all of the common shares of Northern thereby giving Deep Well an indirect beneficial interest in the assets in which the Plaintiff is claiming an interest.

 

The Plaintiff seeks an order setting aside the transaction and returning the assets to 979708, compensation in the amount of $15,000,000 Cdn, a declaration of trust declaring that Northern and Deep Well hold all of the assets acquired from 979708 and any property acquired by use of such assets, or confidential information of 979708, in trust for the Plaintiff.

 

This lawsuit has been stayed pending the outcome of the other litigation by the Plaintiff against some of the above defendants other than Deep Well and Northern. The Company believes the claims are without merit and will vigorously defend against them. As at March 31, 2012, no contingent liability has been recorded, as the Company believes that a successful outcome for the Plaintiff is remote.

 

Hardie & Kelly vs. Brown et al

 

On June 2, 2006, Hardie and Kelly (“the Plaintiff”), Trustee of the Estate of John Forbes Brown, filed against John Forbes Brown, a bankrupt, Diane Lynn McClaflin, 1089144 Alberta Ltd., and Deep Well (“the Defendants”) an Amended Statement of Claim in the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta Judicial District of Calgary. John Forbes Brown was a former officer and then sub-contractor of Deep Well before and during the time he was assigned into bankruptcy on July 12, 2004. The Plaintiff claims, in addition to other issues unrelated to Deep Well, that John Forbes Brown received 4,812,500 Deep Well shares as a result of his employment at Deep Well and that John Forbes Brown improperly assigned these shares to the numbered company as a ruse entered into on the eve of insolvency by John Forbes Brown in order to facilitate the hiding of assets from his creditors and the trustee of his bankruptcy. The Plaintiff further claims that on August 23, 2004, John Forbes Brown advised the Plaintiff that he in fact owned the above shares and did not disclose this ownership in his filed bankruptcy statement of affairs.

 

The Plaintiff further claims that John Forbes Brown would lodge the said shares with his lawyer until such time as these shares could be transferred to the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff further claims that, unbeknownst to them, John Forbes Brown surreptitiously removed the shares from his lawyer's office and delivered them to Deep Well so that Deep Well could cancel them. The Plaintiff claims that Deep Well conspired with John Forbes Brown to defraud the creditors of John Forbes Brown by taking receipt and cancelling the said shares. The Plaintiff claims that consideration paid by Deep Well for the said shares was invested in the home owned by John Forbes Brown and his wife. The Plaintiff seeks: (1) an accounting of the proceeds and benefits derived by the dealings of the shares; (2) the home owned by John Forbes Brown and his wife, to be held in trust on behalf of the Plaintiff and an accounting of proceeds related to this trust; (3) damages from the Defendants because of their actions; (4) a judgement for $15,612,645 Cdn; (5) an order to sell John Forbes Brown's home; and (6) interest and costs.

 

Deep Well plans to vigorously defend itself against the Plaintiff's claims. As at March 31, 2012, no contingent liability has been recorded, as the Company believes that a successful outcome for the Plaintiff is remote.