Canada Case Law

Thomson v. Thomson Estate

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Appeal dismissed: trial judge correctly concluded no enforceable oral contract was formed in November 2009 because the parties did not reach agreement on all essential terms (notably financing for the full 15% interest, the services to be provided on reinstatement, and the mechanism for partner approval) and there was no objective intention to create legal relations; the credibility findings and factual inferences supporting those conclusions attract appellate deference and disclose no reviewable error.

Source excerpt

• Contract formation
• Intention to create legal relations
• Certainty of essential terms
• Authority/agency
• Partner admission under partnership agreement
• Credibility findings and standard of review

Read case analysis

Brink v. Xos Services (Canada), Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court allowed Kim Brink’s appeal, holding the parties had formed an enforceable settlement and that tax treatment was an implementation issue, not a missing essential term.

• Settlement agreement enforcement
• Wrongful dismissal
• Contract formation
• Tax treatment of settlements
• Punitive damages
• Special costs

Read case analysis

Fredericks v. Smysniuk

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The plaintiff failed to prove he was owed any additional sums because he produced no reliable evidence quantifying losses or cost differences and could not explain his calculations; the written contract and incorporated plans were too vague and lacking essential terms to establish an enforceable obligation that the plaintiff provide a fully finished turnkey house for the lump sum claimed by the defendants; the plaintiff unilaterally abandoned the project, but the defendants' counterclaim for completion costs also fails because there was no objective consensus ad idem as to the scope and price…

Source excerpt

• Contract formation
• Contract interpretation
• Scope of work
• Abandonment of contract
• Breach of contract
• Damages for completion

Read case analysis

Blue Green Solar Ltd. v. Lewis

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal dismissed from a small claims judgment over a solar installation dispute, with no palpable and overriding error found in the trial judge’s handling of disclosure and evidence.

• Contract formation
• Set-off
• Disclosure obligations
• Witness credibility
• Admissibility of evidence
• Intimate images statute s.162.1

Read case analysis

Skycope Technologies Inc. v. Jia

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal set aside a finding that Junfeng Jia was owed damages equal to a 30% Skycope equity interest, but upheld the refusal to award punitive damages.

• Wrongful dismissal
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Misuse of confidential information
• Unjust enrichment
• Constructive trust
• Punitive damages

Read case analysis

Créations Guimel Inc. v. Minister of National Revenue

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court dismissed judicial review of a CRA VDP denial, finding the missing 2007 amended T2 was material, the process was fair, and no contract or estoppel arose.

• Voluntary disclosures program
• Income tax act s.220(3.1)
• Offshore voluntary disclosures program
• Completeness of disclosure
• Procedural fairness
• Promissory estoppel

Read case analysis

Ross v. Garvey

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Summary trial in a real estate dispute: the court found a contract was formed by email and text, but it was unenforceable because the sellers did not sign it.

• Statute of frauds
• Electronic signatures
• Contract formation
• Specific performance
• Certificate of pending litigation (cpl)
• Ostensible/actual agency

Read case analysis

Ball v. Eckhart

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal over a 2004 family property payment agreement, holding it was enforceable and that the limitation period ran only from the 2021 sale.

• Agreement to agree
• Contract formation
• Limitation period commencement
• Partition of property
• Adequacy of reasons
• Contract-formation

Read case analysis

Bedford Academy Incorporated v. Ogunsanya

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The introductory letter was aspirational and too vague to constitute contractual terms; the operative contract was the provision of education to required provincial standards and the signed 2023 Letter of Commitment. The Defendant failed to prove any contractual breach by the Claimant that would discharge his payment obligations, and he remained liable under the Letter of Commitment; the Claimant was therefore entitled to damages, interest and costs.

Source excerpt

• Contract formation
• Certainty of terms
• Repudiatory breach
• Contractual interpretation
• Tuition payment and notice provisions
• Pre-judgement interest

Read case analysis

RSC Motors Inc. v. Marks

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Summary trial application in a Porsche ownership dispute was dismissed because central facts and credibility issues could not be resolved on the paper record.

• Contract formation
• Repudiation
• Deposit and ownership
• Beneficial ownership
• Possession and conversion
• Summary trial suitability

Read case analysis