Court of Appeal for Ontario

CITATION: RRP Investments Inc. v. Vision Immigration & Settlement Abroad Inc., 2015 ONCA 604

DATE: 20150909

DOCKET: C59969

BEFORE: Cronk, Lauwers and van Rensburg JJ.A.

BETWEEN

RRP Investments Inc.

Plaintiff (Respondent)

and

Vision Immigration & Settlement Abroad Inc., Depinderdeep Singh, T-Sharp Inc. and Monisha Singh

Defendants (Appellants)

COUNSEL:

Sukhjinder Bhangu, for the appellants

Ralph Swaine, for the respondent

Heard and released orally: August 31, 2015

On appeal from the order of Justice Douglas K. Gray of the Superior Court of Justice, dated January 8, 2015.

ENDORSEMENT

[1] The motion judge refused to set aside the landlord’s default judgment because the tenants failed to explain the delay in responding to the matter after service of the Statement of Claim. In their factum, the tenants allege both lack of proper service and that they have a defence to the main action arising from a collateral agreement between the tenants’ representative and the spouse of the landlord’s principal. There is no affidavit attesting to these facts and there was none before the motion judge. The motion judge did not err in dismissing the appellants’ motion to set aside the default judgment in the absence of evidence explaining the delay in responding to the Statement of Claim and putting forward a plausible defence.

[2] We note respondent’s counsel’s undertaking during argument before the motion judge and to this court that the landlord will give credit to the tenants for any amount received by it for the re-rental of the premises against rent outstanding under the leases from January to September 2015. The final judgment does not, but should, reflect that credit and must be adjusted on that basis. If the parties are unable to agree on a proper amount of the adjustment by way of a consent amendment, then the terms of the judgment must be settled before the motion judge.

[3] The appeal is otherwise dismissed. Costs to the respondent in the aggregate amount of $3000 plus HST, inclusive of disbursements.

“E.A. Cronk J.A.”

“P. Lauwers J.A.”

“K. van Rensburg J.A.”