M.A. De Sanctis

The plaintiff real estate brokerage sued for unpaid commissions under an Exclusive Sales Agreement (ESA) for marketing custom-built homes.

The ESA mistakenly named a non-existent corporation, 'Castel Homes', as the builder.

The court rectified the ESA to name 'Castel Homes Inc.' as the contracting party, rejecting the defendants' argument that a different related corporation, Allure Inc., should be the party.

The court held that the plaintiff's 2% commission was to be calculated on the sale price excluding HST, and that the plaintiff was not entitled to commissions for two sales that failed to close.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claims against the individual director for inducing breach of contract and against Allure Inc. for unjust enrichment, finding the contract provided a juristic reason for any enrichment.

The plaintiff was awarded $161,720 in damages against Castel Homes Inc.

The plaintiff sought to deny costs to the successful defendants following a dismissed motion regarding civil jury challenges for cause.

The plaintiff argued the motion was a test case, raised novel issues, and involved public interest litigation.

The court rejected the public interest and test case arguments, noting the plaintiff had a direct pecuniary interest in the personal injury action.

However, recognizing the technical novelty of the motion, the court applied a 15% reduction to the defendants' partial indemnity costs, awarding $19,918.36 to two defendants and $7,853.24 to another.