R. J. Gibbs

The plaintiff purchased a house with defective foundations from the original builders, who had ignored a municipal stop work order.

The City of Kamloops had inspected the property, discovered the defects, and issued the order, but failed to take further steps to enforce it or prevent occupancy.

The plaintiff sued the vendors and the City for the cost of repairs.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the City owed a private law duty of care to the subsequent purchaser to enforce its building by-law.

The City's inaction was not a bona fide policy decision but an operational failure.

The Court also held that pure economic loss was recoverable in these circumstances and that the limitation period did not begin to run until the damage was reasonably discoverable.

The respondent, a supplier of lightweight aggregate, sued the appellants for the tort of conspiracy to injure after the appellants ceased using its product.

The appellants had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to lessen competition in the concrete market contrary to the Combines Investigation Act.

The trial judge and Court of Appeal found for the respondent, holding that the appellants' unlawful conduct eliminated the respondent as a competitor, even without a specific intent to injure it.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the tort of conspiracy requires either a predominant purpose to injure the plaintiff, or unlawful conduct directed at the plaintiff where injury is likely.

The Court found no such intent or directed conduct here, and concluded the respondent's business failure was caused by market forces rather than the appellants' conspiracy.