Summary

This appeal involves the correct application of principles of contract interpretation to related agreements. It also turns on the proper assessment of damages for defamation owing to a corporate plaintiff.

The respondent, James Bay Resources Limited (“James Bay”), is an Ontario corporation. It sought to acquire oil and gas contracts in Nigeria. Under Nigerian law, as a non-Nigerian entity, James Bay had to partner with at least one Indigenous Nigerian business to extract oil and gas in Nigeria. James Bay was introduced to the corporate appellant, Mak Mera Nigeria Limited a.k.a. Mak Mera Limited (“Mak Mera”), a Nigerian company that carries on business as a consultant and service provider in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, and to the appellant, Wale Sola, Mak Mera’s president and business development manager, who interfaced with foreign companies seeking to do business in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

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