Law360 Canada ( March 14, 2023, 6:23 AM EDT) -- Appeal by FPS Food Process Solutions Corporation (FPS) from a declaration that post-judgment interest pursuant to the Court Order Interest (COI) Act continued to accrue on the judgment debt, notwithstanding FPS’s payment of the judgment into an interest-bearing trust account, pending appeal. The respondent, GEA Refrigeration Canada Inc. (GEA), was successful as plaintiff at trial in a claim against FPS arising out of FPS’ misappropriation of confidential engineering drawings. GEA obtained judgment for damages in the amount of $7,137,087. FPS appealed from the trial judgment. Pending the appeal, through their respective counsel, FPS and GEA entered into a stay of execution agreement (SEA), whereby FPS would make payment toward the judgment in the amount of $7,287,037 by certified trust cheque. Following the parties’ SEA, counsel for FPS paid $7,287,087 “in trust” to counsel for GEA, referred to as judgment funds. Counsel for GEA held the judgment funds in an interest-bearing trust account. Eventually, FPS’s appeal was dismissed, as well as its application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Following the dismissal of the leave application, and after notice to FPS's counsel, GEA’s counsel paid out of trust to GEA the judgment funds plus the interest that had accumulated on the funds while in trust. The amount of interest earned while the judgment funds were held in trust was less than the amount of interest that GEA would have been entitled to under the COI Act had judgment not been paid. GEA demanded that FPS pay the difference of approximately $644,000. FPS refused the demand to pay approximately $644,000 in post-judgment interest. GEA sought a declaration that the balance was owed to it. GEA obtained the declaration that the balance of the post-judgment interest was due to it. FPS submitted that the judge erred in interpreting the SEA as requiring the judgment funds to be held in trust and in concluding that post-judgment interest under the COI Act continued to accrue after the payment of the judgment funds....