The applicants brought a motion for leave to obtain a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) regarding a strip of municipal land that the respondent City declared surplus and sold to the respondent purchaser.
The applicants had commenced an application for judicial review to quash the by-law authorizing the sale.
The applicants conceded they had no claim to an interest in the land but argued equity demanded the status quo be maintained.
The court dismissed the motion, holding that under s. 103 of the Courts of Justice Act, a reasonable claim to an interest in land is an indispensable threshold requirement for a CPL, and the court cannot expand the legislative intention to grant a CPL where no interest in land is claimed.