Canada Case Law

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…

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

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RStyle Enterprises Ltd. v. 1308879 B.C. Ltd.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The appeal is allowed because a purchaser's lien is an equitable interest in land that can support a CPL and the ANOCC in this case pleads the material facts identified in 133 (CA) (valid contract, deposit paid to seller, contract went off through no fault of purchaser); therefore the chambers judge erred to cancel the CPL under s.215(1).

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• Certificate of pending litigation
• Purchaser's lien
• Land title act s.215(1)
• Specific performance
• Deposit forfeiture

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Blankstein v. Hayes Davis Investments Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Summary judgment dismissed because material triable issues exist: evidence supports that the Option Agreement may be intimately connected to the services agreement (Sail Labrador) and factual disputes remain about whether defendant's conduct hindered exercise or justified equitable relief to excuse non-compliance; these issues cannot be resolved on a Rule 9-6 application.

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• Option agreements
• Specific performance
• Failure of consideration
• Summary judgment
• Relief from forfeiture
• Substantial non-performance

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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

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Blizzard Uranium Corp v. Nathanson, Schacter & Thompson LLP

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Court found defendants liable for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty: the Amended SOC contained a factual error (B Claims misdescribed as held in trust for Boss) caused by defendant counsel's failure to verify and to account for prior file materials; that error foreseeably gave the beneficial owner leverage, caused settlement complications and payments; causation established; but plaintiffs bore 50% contributory negligence for failures to detect and mitigate; court applied a $2,000,000 'but for' deduction (likely value that would have been paid for B Claims absent the error), reduced rec…

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• Solicitor negligence
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Contributory negligence
• Causation
• Damages
• Settlement law

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Rashid v. Rashid

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The defendant Sharmin Rashid had no legal or equitable interest in the property, the notice of civil claim contains no pleaded obligations or benefits attributable to her and does not properly plead inducing breach or wrongful interference, plaintiffs are bound by their prior admission that she had no interest, and on the evidence and pleadings it is manifestly clear there is no genuine issue for trial with respect to claims against her; accordingly the claims against Sharmin must be dismissed under Rule 9-6(1).

Source excerpt

• Specific performance
• Equitable trust
• Unjust enrichment
• Inducing breach of contract
• Wrongful interference with contractual relations
• Summary judgment

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Baron v Ferguson

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The court found that the applicant retained an equitable interest in the Lost Acre because the respondents subdivided and transferred that portion after the APS was executed and after lawyer review without notifying the purchaser or her agents; the property was shown to be unique for the applicant's purposes, damages were inadequate, and the applicant had clean hands; accordingly specific performance ordering respondents to convey the Lost Acre at their expense was warranted.

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• Specific performance
• Constructive trust
• Vendor and purchaser obligations
• Subdivision and land registration
• Costs

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Wright v. Wright

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal enforced a property partnership agreement, severed an uncertain proceeds clause, and rejected claims of undue influence, fiduciary breach, and unconscionability.

• Specific performance
• Undue influence
• Fiduciary duty
• Unconscionability
• Severability
• Option to purchase

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Sinclair v. T.D.M.C. Holdings Ltd.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal was granted in part because the Sinclair Group identified an arguable extricable question of law: whether the arbitrator erred in extending the duty to exercise contractual discretion in good faith to s.11 of the Co-Owners Agreement where s.11 may be an unenforceable agreement to agree; other grounds (procedural fairness and challenged factual findings) did not raise arguable questions of law for leave.

Source excerpt

• Good faith contractual performance
• Agreement to agree
• Procedural fairness
• Scope of arbitrator's jurisdiction
• Specific performance

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Van Maren Financial (2018) Ltd. v. Wolfenden Ventures Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted the adjournment because triable issues exist regarding contractual interpretation of the as‑is clause and alleged post‑approval damage, there is material uncertainty about the extent of damage, the insurance claim and ownership/transfer of Wolfenden Ventures Ltd., and the fairness of making a final order of sale without cross‑examination and production of documents. Accordingly the interests of justice required postponing approval of the sale, ordering targeted pre‑hearing steps (cross‑examination and disclosure), and permitting further procedural relief to be sought on a fi…

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• Foreclosure
• Conduct of sale
• As‑is/where‑is clause
• Adjournment
• Cross‑examination on affidavit
• Discovery/production of documents

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