In Ontario’s real estate landscape, few legal instruments carry the disruptive force of a Certificate of Pending Litigation (CPL). Registered directly on title, a CPL publicly declares that someone has commenced a court proceeding in which an interest in the land is claimed. It is a legal cloud that follows the property wherever it goes. […]
Category Archives: Commercial Real Estate Litigation
Condominium Liens and the Oppression Remedy
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation No. 1067 v. 1388020 Ontario Corp. provides important guidance on three key litigation issues: the proper use of summary judgment where credibility is contested, the requirement to plead limitation defences, and the limits of a court’s remedial authority under the oppression provisions of the […]
Broad Use of Summary Judgment and Resulting Trust Confirmed in Property Dispute
In Fang v. Yin, the Court of Appeal for Ontario addressed a contentious dispute arising from a joint real estate venture that ultimately devolved into litigation over ownership, partnership, and alleged misconduct. The decision provides important guidance on several key litigation issues, including the proper use of summary judgment, the evidentiary assessment of informal agreements, […]
Mortgage Set Aside as Fraudulent Conveyance
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Sapusak v. Canguard Group Limited provides a clear and practical illustration of how courts approach fraudulent conveyances, particularly in the context of mortgage transactions. The case highlights the legal consequences of failing to respond to a strong evidentiary record and reinforces the court’s willingness to grant summary judgment […]
Joint Venture Breakdowns in Real Estate: Exit Strategies and Litigation
Joint ventures are a common and often lucrative structure in Ontario’s commercial real estate sector. They allow multiple parties, whether individuals, corporations, or institutional investors, to pool resources, share risks, and access opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. But while these arrangements offer many benefits, they are not without risk. The legal, financial, […]
Court of Appeal Considers Unconscionability in the Context of Mortgage Transactions
We have previously written about the case of Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller, one of the leading Canadian decisions on the law of unconscionability in contracts. The case set out the legal test to be applied by courts when determining whether a contract should be set aside for being unconscionable. This test was applied recently […]
Court of Appeal Considers Exercise of Options to Purchase Commercial Properties
Commercial leases sometimes contain options that allow tenants to purchase the premises they are leasing. The options typically contain a specific purchase price or the formula or method by which that price is to be determined. Such options were recently considered by the Court of Appeal in 1785192 Ontario Inc. v. Ontario H Limited Partnership. […]
Court of Appeal Considers Whether An Open Building Permit Entitles A Party To Terminate An Agreement of Purchase And Sale
The standard form agreement of purchase and sale for the property includes a clause permitting the buyer to require that the seller remove or remedy “any valid objection to title or … any outstanding work order or deficiency notice.” Recently, this clause was interpreted by the Court of Appeal in EPRF Holdings Limited v. Fergus […]
The Doctrine of Part Performance in Land Agreements
Under Ontario’s Statute of Frauds, verbal agreements respecting land are deemed unenforceable. As the Superior Court of Justice commented in Van, et al. v. Qureshi, et al., the statute’s purpose was to prevent “fraudulent allegations of promises that had never been made, by requiring a formality in certain classes of agreement.” The Ontario Court of […]
Partners May Be Deemed To Owe Each Other Legal Obligations Even Within A Family Context
The recent case of Ioannidis v. Ioannidis is a useful reminder of the legal implications of carrying on business in a partnership, even between family members. The Three Legal Elements Essential to a Partnership Before reviewing the case, it is helpful to remember when someone will generally be deemed to constitute a “partner” for the […]