Real Estate Law

The plaintiff sued its former lawyer's estate and professional corporation for negligence and breach of contract after the lawyer allowed a construction lien to expire by failing to set the action down for trial within two years.

The defendants conceded the breach of the standard of care but disputed causation and damages, arguing the plaintiff failed to mitigate by not enforcing a related judgment and that the property lacked sufficient equity.

The court found the plaintiff did not act unreasonably in relying on the lawyer's advice that the lien was valid.

Assessing the complex evidence on the contaminated property's retrospective value, the court determined there was equity in the property and fixed damages at $472,000.

The court-appointed receiver brought a motion to approve the sale of a jointly owned property and for ancillary relief, including approval of fees and an interim distribution of proceeds.

The respondent opposed the sale, challenging the appraisals, the rejection of his own bid, and the receiver's fees.

Applying the Soundair test, the court found that the receiver made sufficient efforts to obtain the best price, considered the interests of all parties, and conducted a fair process with integrity.

The court approved the sale, the receiver's fees, and an interim distribution of the proceeds to the applicant to satisfy outstanding obligations under a prior divorce agreement.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) regarding a residential property transferred by the defendant to his spouse.

The plaintiffs sought to recover on unsecured demand loans and alleged the transfer was a fraudulent conveyance.

The court applied the Grefford test and found a high probability of success on the debt claim, sufficient badges of fraud to raise a triable issue regarding intent to defeat creditors, and that the balance of convenience favoured granting the CPL.

The motion was granted and costs were awarded to the plaintiffs.

The tenant, a duty-free store operator at the Peace Bridge, brought a cross-motion seeking a declaration that it was not required to pay base rent during the 18-month period its store was closed due to COVID-19 border restrictions.

The tenant argued the landlord breached a lease provision requiring consultation on regulatory changes and breached its duty of good faith by making unreasonable demands.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the landlord engaged in good faith negotiations and offered reasonable accommodations.

The court held it cannot rewrite the lease or impose a new rent structure where the parties failed to reach an agreement, as the lease lacked objective benchmarks for such an adjustment.

The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment to collect funds advanced to the defendants pursuant to three promissory notes and a mortgage.

The defendants raised several defences, including that the interest rates offended the Criminal Code, lack of consent to the assignment of the debts, alleged payments made, extinguishment of the debt by power of sale, and an agreement not to enforce.

The court found no genuine issue for trial on any of the defences, noting the interest rates were below the criminal rate and the defendants had acknowledged the full amounts owing.

Summary judgment was granted in favour of the plaintiff for the principal amounts plus interest.

The applicant condominium corporation sought an order compelling the respondent unit owners to allow access to their penthouse unit so contractors could repair an adjacent common element riser.

The respondents refused access, arguing the situation was not an exigent health and safety issue and seeking mediation under s. 132 of the Condominium Act.

The court found that s. 132 does not mandate mediation for disagreements under the Act, and that the corporation had a duty to repair the failing risers to prevent water damage under s. 117(1).

The application was granted, and the respondents were ordered to pay the remobilization costs and full indemnity costs of the application.

Following a default judgment in favour of the plaintiffs, the court issued a supplementary endorsement addressing HST, pre-judgment interest, and costs.

The court clarified the application of HST to specific damage amounts and awarded pre-judgment interest at the contractual rate of 3% over prime for disposal and restoration costs, as these fell under the definition of 'Additional Rent' in the lease.

The plaintiffs were awarded costs of $31,385.41 on a substantial indemnity basis pursuant to the lease agreement.

The plaintiff brought a motion for default judgment after the defendant failed to close an agreement of purchase and sale for a residential property.

The defendant had agreed to purchase the property for $3,660,000 and paid a $100,000 deposit, but breached the agreement.

The plaintiff subsequently sold the property for $3,200,000 and sought damages for the difference in sale price and carrying costs.

The court granted default judgment, ordering the forfeiture of the deposit to be applied against the plaintiff's total damages, resulting in a net damages award of $405,346.47 plus costs.

The applicant sought damages after the respondent wrongfully refused to discharge a vendor take-back mortgage upon full payment.

The respondent's refusal prevented the applicant from refinancing the property, causing him to lose a lucrative opportunity to purchase another commercial investment property.

The court found the respondent breached its contractual obligation to discharge the mortgage within a reasonable time and acted in bad faith.

The court awarded the applicant $150,375 in compensatory damages for the lost opportunity, but dismissed the claim for punitive damages as there was no independent actionable wrong.

The plaintiff brought an action against the estate of a deceased family friend, claiming sole beneficial ownership of two properties and seeking repayment of loans evidenced by promissory notes.

The estate claimed a 50% interest in one of the properties, Bowan Court, arguing it was intended as a matrimonial home for the deceased and the plaintiff's daughter.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claims regarding the first property and the loans due to pleading deficiencies and lack of corroboration.

However, the court granted the plaintiff's claim for sole ownership of Bowan Court, finding no evidence of a common intention or unjust enrichment to support the estate's trust claims, and ordered the deceased's 1% interest removed from title.

The plaintiff mortgage syndicate brought a motion for summary judgment and to strike the defendants' statement of defence and counterclaim regarding a defaulted second mortgage.

The defendants, who had not made any payments, alleged unparticularized fraudulent behaviour by the plaintiffs' agents.

The court struck the statement of defence and counterclaim as they disclosed no reasonable defence or cause of action.

Finding no genuine issue for trial, the court granted summary judgment in favour of the plaintiffs and awarded full indemnity costs.

The court-appointed receiver brought a motion for an approval and vesting order (AVO) to sell a real estate development property to a third-party purchaser.

A second mortgagee and joint venture participant brought a cross-motion to redeem the property or, alternatively, for approval of its credit bid.

The court dismissed the cross-motion, finding that allowing a redemption after a court-approved sale process had concluded would undermine the integrity of the process.

The court granted the receiver's motion, holding that the proposed sale satisfied the Soundair principles, as the receiver acted providently, considered all stakeholders' interests, and conducted a fair and commercially efficacious process.

Two brothers co-owned a family cottage and entered into a co-ownership agreement without legal advice.

When the plaintiff sought to sell his share, a dispute arose over the interpretation and validity of the buy-sell provision.

The plaintiff applied to enforce the provision or alternatively for a sale under the Partition Act, while the defendant applied for rectification of the agreement to match an earlier draft.

The Superior Court of Justice found the buy-sell provision void for uncertainty as it constituted an unenforceable agreement to agree.

The court dismissed the defendant's claim for rectification, finding no evidence of fraud or equivalent conduct.

Ultimately, the court ordered the sale of the property pursuant to the Partition Act and directed the net proceeds to be divided equally.

The plaintiffs sought costs of $13,736.49 on a full indemnity basis following a motion brought by the defendants regarding a power of sale and mortgage redemption.

The defendants had achieved partial success on the motion, securing a reimbursement of $11,700 for excess charges, but their claims of illegal possession were dismissed.

The court found that while the plaintiffs were contractually entitled to full indemnity costs for collection efforts, the divided success warranted a reduction.

The defendants were ordered to pay $10,000 in costs to the plaintiffs.

The plaintiff, an elderly widow acting through her litigation guardian, sought to evict her son from her property so she could sell it to fund her long-term care.

The son claimed they had formed an oral contract in 2010 for him to purchase the property and counterclaimed for an interest in the land or unjust enrichment for renovations.

The court found no enforceable contract existed as essential terms were never agreed upon, and the son's actions did not constitute part performance under the Statute of Frauds.

The court also dismissed the unjust enrichment claim, finding the son's rent-free living offset any contributions.

The son was ordered to vacate the property.

The plaintiff brought an action for specific performance of an agreement of purchase and sale for a commercial property.

The parties had negotiated the terms over several months and signed the agreement, along with a side letter allowing the defendant's lawyer 48 hours to review the legal wording.

The defendant subsequently attempted to renegotiate the business terms and ultimately repudiated the agreement when the property's value increased.

The court found that a binding agreement had been reached and that the side letter did not permit renegotiation of business terms.

Because the property was uniquely suited to the plaintiff's business needs and damages would be inadequate, the court ordered specific performance.

The moving party appealed a previous order vesting title of his real estate to the respondent estate and sought a stay of any sale of the property pending the appeal.

The parties consented to a stay until June 15, 2023, but disagreed on whether it should continue until the appeal's disposition if no decision was made by that date.

Applying the three-part test for an injunction, the court found a serious issue to be tried, potential irreparable harm if the property was sold, and that the balance of convenience favoured the moving party.

The court ordered the stay to continue until the disposition of the appeal.

The applicant condominium corporation sought relief under sections 113 and 135 of the Condominium Act, alleging that the respondent declarant failed to adequately disclose the provisions of a Shared Amenities Agreement (SAA) and that the SAA's operation was oppressive.

The court found that while the declarant failed to disclose that future phases of the development would not proceed, the applicant did not prove this non-disclosure produced an oppressive or unconscionably prejudicial result.

The court dismissed the oppression claims, noting the applicant had withheld its share of expenses for over five years and should utilize the SAA's arbitration mechanism to resolve its operational disputes.

The plaintiff sought leave to issue a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) on a property purchased by one of the corporate defendants.

The plaintiff alleged that funds owed to it for unpaid meat supplies were diverted by the debtor corporation's directors to fund the property purchase, claiming a constructive trust and tracing remedy.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the plaintiff was essentially an unsecured creditor seeking to secure a debt rather than asserting a genuine interest in land, and that other remedies were available.

The plaintiff/appellant appealed an Associate Justice's decision refusing to grant a writ of possession for a residential property.

The respondent spouse, who was not on title but claimed rights under the Family Law Act, argued that ongoing enforcement proceedings regarding a second mortgage prevented her from redeeming the first mortgage.

The Superior Court found that the Associate Justice made a palpable and overriding error by conflating the first and second mortgages.

The court held that the spouse had received adequate notice and opportunity to redeem but failed to do so, and ordered the issuance of a writ of possession.