The landlord applicant sought declaratory relief regarding its ability to lease former Sears space in an Ottawa shopping mall to a bank for a call centre.
The respondent, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), argued its consent was required under the lease due to a material change to the mall's merchandising plan.
The court found that the proposed lease constituted a "major change to the merchandising balance of the mall" would "materially change pedestrian flow" and would "detrimentally affect the Tenant’s merchandising environment" thereby triggering HBC's consent requirement.
The court further determined that HBC had not waived its rights, had not unreasonably withheld consent, and had not acted in bad faith.
The application was dismissed with costs awarded to the respondent.
