Canada Case Law

1063466 B.C. Ltd. v. 1286121 B.C. Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Registrar's report is approved; on the evidence there is a real risk that existing equity in other properties will not satisfy the judgment and the petitioner faces prejudice from further dilution, therefore the court ordered sale of the non‑residence Gaba Properties (144 Street and 49 Avenue) with exclusive conduct by the petitioner and sale by realtor, dispensed COEA advertising, while deferring sale of the Principal Residence for four months under s.96(2) COEA due to hardship and valuation uncertainty, with liberty to reapply thereafter.

Source excerpt

• Sale of land under coea
• Deferral of sale of principal residence
• Registrar's report approval
• Priority of judgments
• Evidence of property value
• Court conduct of sale

Read case analysis

Murray v. Young

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The application to add Michael Holmes and Pemberton Holmes Ltd. is dismissed because the plaintiff failed to plead or establish an independent relationship with the proposed defendants and a loss distinct from the company's loss; therefore the Foss v. Harbottle derivative action doctrine bars the individual claims and the threshold under R.6-2(7)(c) was not met; additionally the July 31, 2020 release likely encompasses agents and further undermines the claim.

Source excerpt

• Joinder/joinder of parties
• Derivative action/foss v. harbottle
• Fiduciary duties
• Agency
• Release and settlement
• Limitation period

Read case analysis

1459534 B.C. Ltd. v. Polajzar

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The notice of civil claim fails to plead the material particulars necessary to sustain a breach of the duty of honest contractual performance because it does not identify the specific representations, how they were dishonest, or how any dishonesty was directly linked to performance of the CPS and Addendum; however, because an amendment could cure the pleading defects and no non-compensable prejudice was shown, the plaintiff is granted leave to amend; the purchaser's lien claim raises conflicting factual issues on the affidavits and is not bound to fail on summary judgment, so the Rule 9-6 app…

Source excerpt

• Duty of honest contractual performance
• Purchaser's lien
• Summary judgment
• Pleadings
• Specific performance
• Time is of the essence / forfeiture

Read case analysis

V2 Investment Holdings Inc. v. Mizrahi

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from judgment on a loan, holding the application record showed ongoing negotiations and no binding amending agreement.

• Loan agreement enforcement
• Mortgage registration and priority
• Conversion of application to action
• Credibility findings on paper record
• Equitable set-off and counterclaim
• Costs

Read case analysis

Cheung v. Lin

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Court found that the flood left the property not in substantially the same condition on the possession date, that condition amounted to a fundamental (repudiatory) breach and clause 8 is a material term; the plaintiff was entitled to terminate and recover the deposit with interest; the defendant’s counterclaim for specific performance was dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Breach of contract
• Fundamental breach/repudiation
• Condition precedent/contract term (viewed clause)
• Deposit recovery
• Specific performance (counterclaim)

Read case analysis

Zhang Estate v. Yin

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Costs awarded at Scale B (no uplift) because the successful party was partially responsible for avoidable complexity by failing to obtain solicitor‑drafted agreements and failing to register land interests; defendants also did not act reasonably commercially but that did not justify costs above Scale B; 1084960 B.C. Ltd. is nonetheless held jointly and severally liable for 21.4% of total costs because its director knew the source of funds and an equitable lien of $3.9 million corresponds to 21.4% of the total award.

Source excerpt

• Costs assessment
• Equitable lien
• Solicitor-drafted agreements
• Land title registration
• Complexity uplift
• Joint and several liability

Read case analysis

Dhunna v. Brown

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Although the defendant engaged in severe delay and failed to take steps promptly to set aside the default judgment, he did not wilfully fail to defend and he demonstrated defences worthy of investigation (including disputed waiver of conditions and mitigation arguments); balancing prejudice and the administration of justice, the interests of justice required setting aside the default judgment and, consequently, the damages order, and permitting the defendant to file a response within 30 days.

Source excerpt

• Setting aside default judgment
• Damages assessment
• Specific performance claim
• Mitigation of damages
• Application timing and delay

Read case analysis

Intercity Realty Inc., Brokerage v. Salerno Realty Inc., Brokerage

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal dismissed Intercity’s appeal, holding that the TRREB arbitration finally determined the commission dispute and barred relitigation against Salerno.

• Commission dispute
• Issue estoppel
• Abuse of process
• Arbitration jurisdiction
• Registrant disclosure (form 160)
• Issue-estoppel

Read case analysis

Kirby v. Turner

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Defendants owed a duty of care to their client sellers (the McNallys) but not to the non-client buyers (the Kirbys) because no proximate relationship was established; the applicable standard of care in October 2020–March 2021 permitted seller identity verification up to completion consistent with FINTRAC/CREA practices then in force, the particular email impersonation fraud was not a known industry risk at the time, the defendants met the standard, causation was not established on the plaintiffs' case, negligent misrepresentation failed for lack of a special relationship and actionable false…

Source excerpt

• Duty of care
• Proximity
• Standard of care
• Causation
• Vicarious liability
• Identity verification

Read case analysis

Montaigne Group Ltd. v. St. Alcuin College for the Liberal Arts Society (Alcuin College)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The application to cancel the CPL was dismissed because Montaigne has a strong, non-frivolous contingent equitable claim to the Montaigne Amenity Space such that it is not manifestly clear the claim will fail and there is a triable issue whether damages would be adequate; Alcuin failed to demonstrate sufficient hardship causally attributable to the CPL to justify discretionary cancellation, and therefore the CPL remains on title.

Source excerpt

• Certificate of pending litigation
• Cancellation of lien
• Specific performance
• Adequacy of damages
• Security for damages
• Hardship and inconvenience

Read case analysis