Canada Case Law

Parhar v. West Point Pacific Construction (64th Ave) Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Assignment Agreement contained material inconsistencies and ambiguities among clauses 5.2, 5.4 and 5.8 regarding payment amounts, payees and trust handling; the plaintiffs failed to adduce necessary evidence of surrounding circumstances to permit the court to find the facts required for a final determination. Consequently the defendants were not bound to lose and the court must dismiss both the R.9-6 summary judgment application and the R.9-7 summary trial application, while leaving the parties free to re-apply if they can adduce further evidence to establish the surrounding circumstances.

Source excerpt

• Contract interpretation
• Deposit
• Assignment of contract
• Summary judgment
• Summary trial
• Surrounding circumstances

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Sidhu v. Mand

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a damages application arising from a failed property assignment, holding the forfeited deposit was liquidated damages and the plaintiffs proved no compensable loss.

• Damages
• Assignment of contract
• Forfeiture of deposit/liquidated damages
• Mitigation of loss
• Indemnity
• Disclosure/clean hands

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1261682 B.C. Ltd. v. 617436 B.C. Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that 617 broke fundamental representations in an assignment agreement, so 126 was entitled to recover its $500,000 deposit with interest and costs.

• Assignment of contract
• Representations and warranties
• Fundamental term vs warranty
• Repudiation and affirmation
• Duty of honest contractual performance
• Special costs

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M.T. Johnstone Construction Ltd. v. Rashidi

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The motion judge correctly concluded there was no evidentiary basis that the realtor's alleged oral promise bound the respondent, the APS's express assignment conditions (consent and $20,000 fee) were not met, and the respondent acted reasonably to mitigate its damages; the appellant failed to raise a genuine issue for trial and did not discharge the burden to prove mitigation was unreasonable, so summary judgment was appropriate.

Source excerpt

• Breach of contract damages
• Mitigation of damages
• Assignment of contract
• Summary judgment
• Frustration of contract
• Costs

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Li v. Hu

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found an oral assignment agreement for a Vancouver pre-sale unit, rejected negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment, and held the plaintiff repudiated.

• Assignment of contract
• Anticipatory repudiation
• Constructive trust
• Negligent misrepresentation
• Certificate of pending litigation (cpl)
• Mitigation of damages

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Singh v. Singh

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff and ordered return of a $100,000 deposit under an assignment agreement after completion failed.

• Assignment of contract
• Return of deposit
• Summary judgment
• Foreclosure impact on contractual performance
• Summary-judgment
• Contract-law

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Gupta v. Gill

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Summary trial in a failed real estate sale. The Court found the purchaser in breach, dismissed counterclaims against the vendor and realtors, and rejected direct liability of the assignee.

• Breach of contract
• Assignment of contract
• Privity of contract
• Misrepresentation
• Rescission
• Right of way (registered vs unregistered)

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Kainth v. Kurji

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

La Cour suprême de la Colombie-Britannique rejette la réclamation pour négligence contre Marcon, jugeant qu’aucun devoir de diligence n’était établi envers le demandeur non partie au contrat.

• Summary judgment
• Summary trial
• Duty of care
• Negligence
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Implied agency

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Pomata Investment Corp. (Treasure Hill Homes) v. Yang

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appellants failed to adduce evidence of an oral agreement or of market value at the date of breach; the respondent complied with the Agreement and reasonably mitigated by reselling the property for $1.5M consistent with comparable sales; damages are the difference between the original contract price and the actual resale price; therefore summary judgment and the damages award were properly upheld.

Source excerpt

• Forfeiture of deposit
• Anticipatory breach
• Mitigation of damages
• Summary judgment
• Assignment of contract
• Fraudulent misrepresentation

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Maynard Holdings Limited v. Optimo Group Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The Court found Optimo abandoned the contract either by its December 21, 2021 correspondence (effectively ceasing performance and proposing assignment and an increased price) or by conveying all equipment and employees to iForm completed February 1, 2022; those abandonment dates are outside the 60-day period prior to Optimo's lien registration on April 8, 2022, so the lien was not timely and was vacated under s.29(4) of the Builders' Lien Act; Maynard satisfied the heavy burden to deprive the lienholder of its security and there was no genuine issue requiring trial.

Source excerpt

• Builders' lien act
• Abandonment of contract
• Vacating lien
• Limitation period for lien registration
• Assignment of contract
• Repudiation

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