J. Wortzman

The moving parties sought recovery of amounts paid under protest to discharge mortgages after a failed maturity repayment and threatened receivership enforcement.

The court held that the lender's purported unilateral automatic renewal was ineffective because essential implied terms required timely decision and communication before renewal obligations fell due, failing which the renewal mechanism operated as an impermissible penalty under s. 8(1) of the Interest Act.

Renewal-related fees and associated interest exacted as a discharge condition were therefore recoverable.

The lender's alternative claim for three months' interest under s. 17 of the Mortgages Act was rejected because the payments arose in the context of enforcement and no surviving stand-alone claim existed after discharge.

Costs entitlement for the second segment was awarded to the moving parties, with scale and quantum left for later determination.

Following a successful motion interpreting a price adjustment clause in a land development agreement, the applicant sought the return of disputed funds held in trust by the respondents' solicitor, along with interest.

The court determined the appropriate interest rates for both the undisputed mortgage amounts paid late by the applicant and the disputed funds held in trust by the respondents.

The court awarded 4% simple interest to the respondents on the late undisputed payments and 4% simple interest to the applicant on the disputed funds held in trust, allowing the respondents to retain the GIC interest earned.