B.C. Court of Appeal overturns $12 million payout to ranch consultant from Sask.-based Monette farms. 

Swift Current farmer Darrel Monette must pay a British Columbia ranch consultant $2.7 million for a handshake deal that turned sour, damaging reputations and landing both men in court.

While steep, it’s a far cry from the $12 million Monette, one of Saskatchewan’s largest farmers, was first ordered by a B.C. court to pay 81-year-old David Dutcyvich in March 2025.

“We still contend that at no point did we ever hire him. At no point did he ever work for us,” Monette Farms general counsel David Kemp said after the appeals court ruling earlier this month.

The case stemmed from a complicated land deal involving companies trying to purchase a B.C. cattle operation, Blue Goose Cattle Company (BGCC), in 2020 and whether Monette hired Dutcyvich to help with the purchase.

BGCC, owned by Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE)-listed Dundee Corp., had 16 separate cattle ranches in British Columbia on more than 18,200 hectares of land and was thought to have 14,000 head of cattle, although that number was disputed.

BGCC wanted $100 million for the land, cattle and equipment.

Dutcyvich entered the scene when Okotoks-based LBJ Capital Inc. tried to buy BGCC shares.

LBJ hired Dutcyvich, a cattle rancher who also assessed the value of cattle ranching operations, and his company, 3L Developments, to review the potential deal.

As part of that, LBJ agreed to pay Dutcyvich a fee “amounting to half of the difference between the $100 million asking price and the final negotiated price." The final negotiated price ended up being $76 million, which meant Dutcyvich would be owed $12 million.

Deal falls through 

According to court documents, LBJ ultimately couldn’t come up with the cash to buy Blue Goose shares for the agreed $76 million.

That soured the business relationship, with representatives from Blue Goose calling LBJ “untrustworthy” and a “dodgy/discordant group.”

On the other side, Dutcyvich was concerned about BGCC’s stated holdings.

According to court documents, he conducted several field trips and took between two and three helicopter trips over the Blue Goose ranches, counting cattle and evaluating their health as part of his work assessing the ranching operations, while his chief financial officer reviewed the company’s financial statements.

He expressed concern about some of his findings.

Dutcyvich could only find 5,000 cows, not the 14,000 BGCC claimed to have. 

He also said equipment was being moved between ranches, “making it difficult to assess the value” and that the payroll was excessive, with many employees appearing to be related to the ranch manager.

Around that time, Monette entered the picture.

Monette testified that LBJ wanted to purchase his entire farming operation for $580 million, a number that was eventually negotiated up to $630 million.

While that deal also dissolved, it brought Monette and Dutcyvich into each other’s orbit.

Dutcyvich said Monette asked for an introduction to the people at Blue Goose.

Monette buys Blue Goose Cattle shares

With LBJ out of the picture, Monette proceeded to negotiate a deal to purchase Blue Goose, testifying that he negotiated the price down to $63 million without Dutcyvich’s help.

Monette did acknowledge that even with LBJ gone, Dutcyvich participated in weekly conference calls and texts.

According to court documents, Dutcyvich said he continued to work on the deal and had a verbal agreement with Monette that he would be paid the $12 million originally outlined in the now-defunct deal with LBJ, partly for work already completed, and for negotiating the price down from its original $100 million.

The final conversation between the two men happened as Dutcyvich and Monette toured the Blue Goose cattle ranches by helicopter in May 2021.

Dutcyvich testified that before the flight he informed Monette his work was done and he expected payment of $12 million once the deal closed.

Monette farms purchased the Blue Goose Cattle shares in October of that year for $63 million. 

Dutcyvich said he was never paid his $12 million.

Handshake deal lands in court

Dutcyvich took Monette to court for unpaid fees. Last year, Justice Emily Burke awarded the rancher $12 million.

"The defendants' duplicity throughout sought to minimize and deny the work undertaken by the plaintiffs, and I do not accept those claims," Burke wrote in her decision.

"As argued, Mr. Monette appears to be reluctant to pay for those who assist him on his path to accumulate his very significant wealth, and the court will not assist him in those endeavours."

Monette appealed, arguing there was never a contract, much less an agreement to pay Dutcyvich $12 million.

On Jan. 9, B.C. Court of Appeals Justice Heather MacNaughton agreed that Monette had contracted Dutcyvich for a job, but found it was less clear that the two men had clearly communicated how much Dutcyvich would be paid.

“Although there was certainty as to the parties and the services to be provided, the parties had not agreed on the fee,” MacNaughton said in the ruling.

She awarded Dutcyvich an “industry standard introduction fee, plus $1 million for work performed, for a total of $2.7 million.”

For Monette, the reputational damage was hard to deal with.

“That was the toughest for us when it came out. It just painted this picture of a person that didn’t exist,” Kemp said.

They’re disappointed the Court of Appeal upheld the finding that Monette had hired Dutcyvich for work, something the Saskatchewan farmer still disputes, Kemp said.

But they don’t plan any more legal action.

“We’re kind of at the end of the road here. But they’re also kind of at the end of their road as well,” he said.