Stephen Allen Brunswick

The appellants appealed a decision by Tarion Warranty Corporation granting them $7,500 in compensation for a delayed closing of their new home.

The appellants sought $278,244.60 in compensation, arguing that the builder breached the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the mandatory Addendum.

The Tribunal held a preliminary issue hearing to determine if it had jurisdiction to award compensation exceeding the $7,500 maximum set out in s. 7(2) of Regulation 165/08 under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.

The Tribunal found that it does not have jurisdiction to award compensation beyond the statutory maximum, and that claims for breach of contract outside the Act's warranty framework must be pursued in the Superior Court of Justice.

The appeal was dismissed.

The court on its own initiative directed the registrar to give notice under Rule 2.1.01(2) that the plaintiff's claim was being considered for dismissal.

The self-represented plaintiff brought a $2.8 million action against the defendant, his former partner and a paralegal, alleging abuse of process, misrepresentation, fraud, and defamation arising from a family law proceeding in the Ontario Court of Justice.

The court found the claim was a transparent collateral attack on court orders made in the family law proceeding, constituting an impermissible attempt to relitigate matters the plaintiff was dissatisfied with.

The claim was dismissed as frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process.

A vacant land condominium corporation sought damages and disgorgement of profits against its former directors and various defendants, alleging breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the release of easements burdening adjacent land.

The plaintiff claimed the directors received secret benefits in exchange for facilitating the release of easements valued at approximately $31.5 million.

The court found that the corporation was contractually obligated to release the easements pursuant to easement release provisions in registered agreements, and that the plaintiff failed to prove the directors received secret benefits or breached their fiduciary duties.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claim and the counterclaim.

The appellant builder appealed an arbitrator's final award on damages and costs following a failed real estate transaction.

Previously, a Superior Court judge had set aside the arbitrator's initial liability award, finding the respondent buyers liable for anticipatory breach, and remitted the matter for damages assessment.

On remand, the arbitrator ignored the court's binding findings, created a legal fiction of 'contributory breach of contract,' and limited the builder's damages to the forfeited deposits without hearing evidence.

The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, holding that arbitrators are bound by the law and appellate court directions.

The award was set aside and remitted to a new arbitrator to properly assess damages based on the difference between the contract and resale prices.

This appeal concerned the interpretation of Agreements of Purchase and Sale (APSs) for two apartment buildings, specifically regarding the allocation of common amenity costs in a redeveloped condominium complex and the responsibility for leasing and collecting rent for rental units prior to their legal transfer.

The appellant sought to impose higher maintenance costs on the respondents due to City-mandated design changes and to retain control over pre-transfer leasing and rent collection.

The Court of Appeal upheld the application judge's decision, finding that the appellant's discretion in cost-sharing was not unfettered and that the respondents, as beneficial owners, were entitled to control leasing and receive rents from the time units became available, thereby preventing unjust enrichment of the appellant.

The appellants appealed a summary judgment that granted forfeiture of their deposit and damages for breach of a pre-construction Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

The appellants had advised the respondent they were unable to close and claimed a separate oral contract existed allowing assignment.

They also argued the respondent failed to mitigate damages by selling the property for significantly less.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the motion judge's decision that no oral contract was proven and that the respondent's mitigation efforts were reasonable, as the appellants provided no evidence to the contrary regarding property valuation or market prices.

The moving parties (defendants) sought to re-open their appeal, which was previously dismissed as abandoned due to their former counsel's failure to appear and communicate.

The court granted the motion, finding it was in the interests of justice as the moving parties were unaware of the hearing date through no fault of their own, and their former counsel was later suspended by the Law Society.

The appeal was not heard on its merits, and the responding party consented to the re-opening.

The parties entered into Agreements of Purchase and Sale where the applicants sold two apartment buildings to the respondent developer in exchange for cash and 100 rental units in the new condominium development.

The City of Toronto required a Section 111 Agreement imposing additional amenities and a shared entrance not contemplated in the original agreements.

The developer sought to have the applicants pay a proportionate share of the increased maintenance costs, control the leasing of the rental units, and retain interim rents before title transfer.

The court held that the applicants were only required to pay for amenities uniquely dedicated to the rental units or originally contemplated, that the applicants had the right to control leasing, and that the applicants were entitled to interim rents, as this aligned with the reasonable expectations of the parties and the commercial efficacy of the agreements.

The plaintiff brought an unopposed motion under Rule 49.09 to enforce a settlement agreement reached in a mortgage enforcement action.

The parties had agreed to all essential terms, including a payment of $725,000 by the defendant, but the defendant and her father subsequently failed to sign the finalized documents.

The court found the settlement clear, unambiguous, and not unconscionable, and granted the motion to enforce the settlement with costs.

The appellants failed to appear for their scheduled appeal hearing before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, despite attempts by the court and respondent's counsel to contact them.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as abandoned.

Costs were awarded to the respondent.

The plaintiff, Pomata Investment Corp., sought summary judgment against the defendant, Yanhua Shi, for breach of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) for a residential property.

The defendant argued misrepresentation and lack of duty of care by the plaintiff's agent, and challenged the damages calculation and mitigation efforts.

The court found no genuine issue for trial regarding liability, rejecting the non est factum defence and the alleged duty of care.

The court also found the plaintiff's mitigation efforts reasonable and the damages calculation valid.

Summary judgment was granted in favour of the plaintiff for the claimed damages plus interest and costs.

The plaintiff condominium corporation appealed an Associate Justice's order striking several paragraphs from its Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim.

The underlying action alleged that the defendants conspired to cause the plaintiff to release easements over adjacent land for little or no value.

The Associate Justice struck paragraphs referring to the financial position of non-parties as irrelevant and scandalous, and struck other paragraphs for pleading evidence rather than material facts.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding no error in principle in the Associate Justice's exercise of discretion.

The plaintiff vendor brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendant purchasers for anticipatory breach of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a pre-construction residential property.

The defendants failed to close the transaction, alleging an oral agreement that the property would be assigned prior to closing for a profit.

The court found no genuine issue requiring a trial, as the defendants failed to provide evidence of the alleged oral agreement or misrepresentations by the plaintiff's agent.

The court also found the plaintiff reasonably mitigated its damages by reselling the property.

Summary judgment was granted, the defendants' counterclaim was dismissed, and a stay of execution pending a third-party claim was denied.

The applicants moved to hold the respondent, a former condominium board president, in contempt of court for failing to comply with a consent order.

The respondent had agreed to resign, turn over corporate email access, and swear a statutory declaration regarding corporate funds, but failed to do so timely or truthfully.

The court declined to make a contempt finding, noting it is a remedy of last resort.

Instead, the court enforced the consent order's liquidated damages clause of $125,000 for non-compliance and vested the respondent's interest in the corporate email account in the condominium corporation.

The plaintiff vendor brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendant purchaser for breaching an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a new build home.

The purchaser failed to close the transaction, alleging confusion and forgery regarding documents amending the purchase price to include selected upgrades.

The court found a valid and binding contract existed, which the purchaser breached.

The court also found the vendor reasonably mitigated its damages by reselling the property, and awarded damages to the vendor for the difference in sale price and carrying costs, net of the purchaser's forfeited deposit.

The plaintiff brought a motion for directions following a successful appeal of an arbitration, seeking to proceed expeditiously after losing confidence in the arbitrator.

All parties agreed to adjourn the motion pending an evaluation from Tarion regarding the return of deposits.

The court agreed it was in the interests of justice to adjourn the matter to August 5, 2021.

The parties made written submissions regarding the form of the Order following a judgment on an appeal and a costs endorsement.

The self-represented respondents approved the form of the Order but raised other concerns, including a schedule for the payment of costs.

The court found that the respondents' concerns did not relate to the form or content of the Order and signed the Order as drafted by the appellant, adding a provision that it is enforceable without formal entry.

The appellant developer appealed an arbitral award that allowed the respondent purchasers to terminate their agreements of purchase and sale and receive a refund of their deposits.

The arbitrator had found that the developer's failure to check a yes/no box in the Tarion Addendum regarding Early Termination Conditions constituted a breach entitling the purchasers to terminate.

The Superior Court of Justice allowed the appeal, finding the arbitrator's decision unreasonable.

The court held that the failure to check the box was a minor, technical breach that did not justify termination, especially since the agreements clearly contained no Early Termination Conditions.

The arbitral award was set aside and the matter remitted to the arbitrator.

The applicant, a minority shareholder, brought a motion to strike certain paragraphs from the respondent's affidavit in an oppression application.

The court struck paragraphs containing legal argument and conclusions, finding them inappropriate for an affidavit.

However, the court deferred the decision on paragraphs challenged for relevance and character impugnment to the judge hearing the main application, emphasizing that relevance is best assessed in the full context of the application.

The plaintiff, York Region Vacant Land Condominium Corporation No. 1010, brought a motion for leave to file a Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim, including the addition of a new defendant, Patrick Greco.

The defendants opposed certain proposed amendments, arguing they were scandalous, irrelevant, or pleaded evidence.

The Master granted leave to amend the statement of claim and add the new defendant, but struck paragraphs 8, 95, and 102-105 from the proposed pleading, finding them to be scandalous references, irrelevant, or improper pleadings of evidence.