Robert Wood

The applicant landlord and respondent tenant brought cross-applications regarding the interpretation of a commercial lease.

The landlord sought a declaration that the lease expired in 2029, while the tenant argued it expired in 2039.

The tenant also sought orders requiring the landlord to replace the roof and parking lot, and an injunction regarding access to a parcel of land.

The court found the lease documents were ambiguous and admitted extrinsic evidence, concluding the lease expires in 2039.

The court dismissed the tenant's counter-application, finding the landlord was not obligated to replace the roof or parking lot, and an injunction was premature.

The applicant, Nasjjec, brought applications to set aside several arbitration awards made by the Arbitrator regarding the dissolution of a partnership that owned a commercial office building.

Nasjjec argued that the Arbitrator exceeded his jurisdiction, failed to treat the parties equally and fairly, and demonstrated a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The respondent, Nuyork, brought a cross-application to enforce the awards.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed Nasjjec's applications, finding that the arbitration agreement precluded appeals on questions of law and that the Arbitrator's decisions were reasonable, within his jurisdiction, and procedurally fair.

The court granted Nuyork's application to enforce the arbitral awards and awarded costs to Nuyork on a partial indemnity basis.

The parties brought competing applications seeking the court’s direction regarding the interpretation of provisions in a commercial lease governing the determination of fair market land value for rent recalculation.

The lease required each party to appoint an appraiser and, if the resulting valuations differed by more than ten percent, for the two appraisers to jointly select a third appraiser.

After conflicting valuations triggered the third-appraiser mechanism, the tenant proposed altering the process to appoint a legally trained decision-maker who was not a licensed appraiser.

The court held that the lease clearly required the appointment of a qualified appraiser experienced in valuing commercial property in Toronto and that the proposed alternative would improperly amend the agreement without the landlord’s consent.

The court therefore directed that the previously identified qualified appraiser be appointed to proceed with the appraisal process.