In 1918, Livingstone and Percy Quinn attempted to force the NHA to restart by forcing a shareholder's meeting, where he hoped that the minority position of the Brunswick Company in the Montreal Canadiens would disallow their vote and swing the vote his way. The NHA owners shot down the plan at what would be the final meeting of the NHA owners in December 1918, voting instead to permanently suspend the NHA, although the organization could not fold completely while it had ongoing legal actions pending against the Canadian military.