The appellants purchased property and entered into a joint venture, unaware that a third party was making a secret profit.
The solicitor acting for the purchasers knew of the secret profit but failed to disclose it, breaching his fiduciary duty.
The purchasers subsequently suffered massive losses when a warehouse built on the property subsided due to the negligence of soils engineers and pile-drivers.
Unable to recover fully from the negligent parties, the purchasers sued the solicitor for the shortfall.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the solicitor breached his fiduciary duty, equitable compensation does not extend to losses caused by the independent and unrelated negligence of third parties.
