David Outerbridge says "Iggillis is the broadest statement of common interest privilege yet"

Partner David Outerbridge was featured in an article by Law Times and highlighted how the Supreme Court’s decision in Minister of National Revenue v. Iggilis Holdings, et al. broadens common interest privilege.

The decision denies the Crown’s application for leave to appeal, effectively restoring normalcy to the law regarding common interest privilege. People were waiting on this decision ever since the 2016 Federal Court judgment by Justice Peter Annis, refusing to recognize CIP in the transactional context—had this been upheld, it would have restricted discussion between deal lawyers on tax issues, altering the practice.

David spoke to the significance of the decision.

“Iggillis is the broadest statement of common interest privilege yet, because the Federal Court of Appeal has extended its application from pure commercial cases—where legal opinions in issue tend to deal such matters as good title to property or how to handle litigation—to the tax law context,” he said.

In the case of cross-border transactions involving American jurisdiction, David still recommended using caution as “the law on CIP differs from state to state.”

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