Judge says HBC landlords should get $2.4M in costs after company's failed lease sale

Hudson's Bay store in Windsor, Ont.

TORONTO — An Ontario court has decided Hudson’s Bay landlords should be paid the roughly $2.4 million they sought after fighting the defunct retailer’s failed push to sell leases to a B.C. billionaire.

The court, however, has paused the transfer of that cash until HBC sorts out all its creditors and warns the funds may never change hands because others owed money may take priority over the landlords.

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Judge Jessica Kimmel says she ruled in favour of the landlords, not to punish HBC and its lenders for trying to sell leases to Ruby Liu, but to indemnify the real estate companies from the department store’s failed attempt to recoup cash by using the legal tools available to it.

Kimmel says awarding costs to parties like the landlords is “unprecedented,” but found the move was necessary because it encourages others involved in future cases to be thoughtful about their litigation strategies and to avoid disputes consensually with settlements.

Landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Ivanhoé Cambridge, had asked for the money because they had to prepare extensive court records to keep Liu from being allowed to move into their properties and had tried to avoid the fight by offering HBC a settlement.

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HBC had argued the landlords shouldn’t see their expenses covered and said awarding them the money would make other insolvent companies hesitant to pursue remedies like the retailer did with the Liu deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2026.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press