Stephen Bale

The former trustees of a family trust applied to pass their accounts.

The beneficiaries objected to several expenses, including fees paid to a former trustee acting as an agent, a second share valuation report, and certain legal fees.

The court held that despite an exculpatory clause in the trust document, the trustees breached their substratum duties by retaining the conflicted former trustee as an agent and commissioning an unnecessary valuation report.

The court disallowed the agent's fees, the valuation report costs, and a portion of the legal fees, ordering the trustees to repay the disallowed amounts to the trust.

The applicant appealed a decision by Tarion Warranty Corporation denying warranty coverage on the basis that the added party was not a 'builder' under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.

The applicant had entered into an agreement of purchase and sale for a new home, but also entered into side contracts with the site supervisor for extra work.

The Tribunal found that the added party was a builder because it remained in control of the construction and provided everything necessary to deliver a completed home.

However, the Tribunal also found that the side contracts with the site supervisor constituted work and material supplied by the owner, and any defects in that work were excluded from warranty coverage under s. 13(2)(a) of the Act.

The complainant alleged a breach of a settlement agreement because the respondent paid a $1,750 settlement amount approximately one week late.

The respondent had offered to pay the four or five dollars in interest for the delay, but the complainant refused, demanding a Board order as a matter of principle.

The Board exercised its discretion under section 89 of the Labour Relations Act to decline to make an order, noting the delay was not excessive and the amount in issue was trivial.

The complaint was dismissed.