ground, saying that if Livingstone dropped his lawsuits, he might be allowed in the league. In the meantime, instead of returning the players to Livingstone or paying Livingstone, the Arena Company requested on October 19, 1918 that it be granted a permanent franchise, with Querrie and Arena Gardens treasurer Hubert Vearncombe as its owners. The new club, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas, was an independent from the Arena Company's corporate structure, and thus was separated from the Livingstone lawsuits, though the franchise still used Livingstone's players without permission. At the same time, the Arena Company board decided that only NHL teams would be allowed to play at the Arena Gardens, effectively foreclosing Livingstone's efforts to resurrect the NHA. Livingstone and Percy Quinn, who owned the suspended Quebec Bulldogs of the NHA/NHL, unsuccessfully attempted to launch a competing Canadian Hockey Association (CHA)., with Quinn planning to relocate the Quebec club to Toronto as the "Shamrocks". Mounting legal bills from the dispute forced the Arenas to sell most of their stars, resulting in a horrendous five-win season in 1918–19. With the club losing money and no hope of catching Ottawa and Montreal in the standings in a three-team league, they requested permission to suspend operations for the season in late February 1919. League president Frank Calder persuaded the team to play its 18th game on February 20, after which the league ended the regular season prematurely (shortening the 20 game schedule) and immediately proceeded to the playoffs. The Arenas' .278 winning percentage that season is still the worst in franchise history. However, since the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals ended without a winner, the Arenas proclaimed themselves world champions by default. Livingstone's suit dragged through the courts for nearly a decade. In October 1923, a ruling was made that Arena Gardens had abused its position as a trustee of the assets of the Toronto Hockey Club—its player contracts—and finding damages of $100,000 in favour of Livingstone. That still was not the end, as the damages were later reduced to $10,000 and that decision was also appealed—all the way to the privy council, which dismissed the appeal in July 1926. Toronto St. Patricks (1919–1927) In 1919, Livingstone won a $20,000 judgement against the Arena Company, which promptly declared bankruptcy to avoid paying. General manager Charlie Querrie learned that the Arena Company wanted to sell. As an interim measure,