Canada Case Law

Dares v. LeBlanc

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Court found a binding contract existed: Applicant agreed to rebuild the Boat for $7,000–$7,500 inclusive of materials with the Boat to be sea-ready for the 2022 boating season; Applicant breached the contract by failing to complete within the agreed/expected period and provided no assurance of timely completion, thereby fundamentally breaching the contract; Respondent validly repudiated by repossessing the Boat on Nov 20, 2022; Respondent had paid approximately $6,592.61 (about 90%) and the Boat was about 90% complete so no further payment was owed; unjust enrichment/quantum meruit claims fai…

Source excerpt

• Breach of contract
• Repudiation / fundamental breach
• Contract formation and certainty
• Assessment of credibility
• Unjust enrichment
• Quantum meruit

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German v. Godbout

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The Claimants are entitled to the outstanding contract balance because the contract plus approved extras totalled $19,158.29, the defendant paid $15,000, and the defendant failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the Claimants breached the implied workmanship standard; the defendant's evidence was found not credible, so the counterclaim is dismissed.

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• Breach of contract
• Workmanship standards
• Damages
• Credit for payments
• Credibility of witnesses

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K.N. v. A.N

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The adjudicator upheld the Director's order because the observed damage amounted to heavy wear and tear rather than damage sufficient to justify termination, the landlord had withdrawn the damages claim at hearing and provided only estimate quotes, and procedural rules require damages claims be determined by the Residential Tenancies Board before the Court will adjudicate them.

Source excerpt

• Termination of tenancy
• Damages for property damage
• Ordinary wear and tear
• Jurisdictional preconditions

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Van den Berge v. Boyle

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The appeal is allowed because the Director's decision was set aside: the Landlord's application was filed outside the mandatory one-year period in s.13 of the Residential Tenancies Act as the second fixed-term lease terminated no later than October 2, 2023 (and alternatively on August 31, 2023), and the Landlord failed to prove that most claimed items arose within the second lease period, so the application must be dismissed as time-barred.

Source excerpt

• Termination of lease
• Notice to quit
• One-year limitation (s.13)
• Possession and re-taking
• Consent to alterations
• Remedies for landlord

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Rainbow International Restoration of Halifax v. Chen

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The Claimant is entitled to restitution because the Defendant received the benefit of emergency remediation, the Claimant suffered a corresponding deprivation by performing and invoicing for the work, and there was no contract or other juristic reason absolving the Defendant of payment; the Claimant's industry-standard charges are reasonable and the Defendant must pay $5,793.78 plus costs.

Source excerpt

• Remediation services
• Apparent authority
• Emergency work pricing
• Quantification of damages
• Mitigation of loss

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Rayner v. Dhaliwal

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court clarified that the class proceeding was commenced on October 3, 2022, when the notice of civil claim was filed, while leaving limitation defences open later.

• Conversion of conventional claim to class proceeding
• Tolling of limitation period under s.38.1 cpa
• Certification and certification stage defences
• Prejudice analysis
• Procedural vs substantive rights
• Class-proceedings

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Bennett v. Doyle

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

Both parties were negligent: the farm owner breached the ordinary standard of care by failing to prevent recurring cattle escapes despite precautions, and the driver was driving imprudently (excessive speed/inattention) at night through a curve and failed to heed warning signs; applying the Contributory Negligence Act the Court apportioned responsibility 60% to the claimant/driver and 40% to the defendant/farm owner, resulting in a net award to claimant of $2,169.60 plus awarded interest and proportional costs as specified.

Source excerpt

• Duty of care
• Apportionment of liability
• Damages valuation
• Contributory negligence
• Fencing obligations

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Andrews v. Nova Scotia Health

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The gate arm struck the vehicle and the risk of such an occurrence was foreseeable; Nova Scotia Health controlled the gate and failed to take a relatively low-cost preventative measure (wrapping the arm with foam) prior to the incident, therefore breached its duty of care; the CarStar estimate was sufficiently detailed and reliable in Small Claims Court, entitling the claimants to $3,147.92 for repairs.

Source excerpt

• Duty of care
• Standard of care
• Foreseeability
• Causation
• Admissibility of estimates/hearsay
• Remedial measures

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Stewart v. Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Co.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The court dismissed the appeal: the insurer waived strict compliance with the sworn proof of loss requirement and relief from forfeiture was appropriate; the Superior Court has discretion under s.128 to decline to order an appraisal and it was reasonable to do so given delay and available evidence; the trial judge permissibly preferred the respondent’s expert evidence and the ACV award was supported.

Source excerpt

• Proof of loss
• Appraisal under insurance act s.128
• Relief from forfeiture
• Waiver
• Assessment of actual cash value (acv)
• Costs

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Randhawa v. Sharma

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court ordered two related actions to be tried together and held that the NSK defendants may examine each plaintiff for discovery, with costs in the cause.

• Consolidation of trials
• Examination for discovery
• Adverse in interest
• Use of discovery evidence
• Costs
• Examination-for-discovery

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