The respondents purchased a parcel of land relying on a book of reference prepared by the appellant land surveyor 17 years earlier, which erroneously overstated the land's surface area.
The respondents subsequently agreed to sell portions of the land to third parties based on the erroneous area.
Upon discovering the shortage, the respondents negotiated a reduced price per square foot with one of their buyers and sued the appellant for the resulting loss of $11,844.83, alleging quasi-delictual fault.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and dismissed the action, finding no causal link between the surveyor's error and the damages claimed, as the respondents failed to prove they would have obtained a higher price for the actual area sold had the error not occurred.
