James Bowie

The applicants agreed to purchase a property from the respondents, who subsequently breached the Agreement of Purchase and Sale by refusing to close.

The respondents argued that the Deposit Clause in the Agreement limited the applicants' remedy to the return of their deposit.

The court found that the Deposit Clause did not clearly and unambiguously waive the applicants' right to claim damages, but only precluded specific performance.

The court awarded the applicants $150,000 in damages, representing the difference between the agreed purchase price and the appraised value of the property at the time of the breach, relying on the applicants' appraisal evidence.

The defendant, Paolo Messina, was successful on a summary judgment motion dismissing the plaintiffs' action against him.

He sought costs on a partial indemnity basis up to the date of an offer to settle, and substantial indemnity costs thereafter.

The court found no reprehensible conduct or Rule 49 offer to justify substantial indemnity costs, awarding partial indemnity costs instead.

After reviewing the principles of partial indemnity costs, including the rule that they must be less than two-thirds of actual costs, the court fixed the defendant's costs at $47,029.64, noting the plaintiffs' unreasonable conduct in maintaining the action without evidence.

The defendant brought a motion to set aside a default judgment obtained against him for damages related to a marijuana grow operation on the plaintiff's property.

The court applied the five-factor test for setting aside default judgments and found that the defendant failed to act promptly, provided no plausible excuse for his default, and failed to present an arguable defence on the merits.

The motion was dismissed with costs awarded to the plaintiff.