Background: The defendants had owned a vacant commercial property since 1989. They obtained a mortgage for $250,000 with interest at 12% per annum. Payments on the mortgage ceased entirely around 2006. The mortgagee took no steps to enforce the mortgage. In 2016 the defendants agreed to sell the property to the plaintiff for $500,000.00. The […]
Category Archives: Commercial Real Estate Litigation
Incorrectly Named Defendants – Misdescription or Misnomer?
Introduction It is not uncommon for a plaintiff to be uncertain about a defendant’s correct legal name. Despite searches and inquiries, the ignorance may continue with the defendant being improperly named in the Statement of Claim. What happens then when the claim is served on the right person but has incorrectly spelled or identified the […]
Forfeited Deposits in a Commercial Real Estate Transaction
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) recently dealt with the issue of a claim for the return of a deposit in a commercial real estate transaction in Benedetto v. 2453912 Ontario Inc. The appellant, who had made the deposit, argued that the pre-incorporation contract made pursuant to s. 21 of Ontario’s Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”), […]
Real Estate Litigation: Continuous Use Clauses in Commercial Leases
The Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) recently reviewed a “continuous use” clause in a commercial lease in a dispute in which a landlord was suing a retail tenant after the tenant ceased retail operations prior to the lease coming to an end. What Happened? The defendant was a well-known retailer and a long-standing commercial tenant of […]
Specific Performance in Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract. Its effect is to require the party against whom the order is made to perform a specific act, such as the performance of an obligation in the contract in question. Specific performance is most often seen used in real estate transactions forcing the deal […]
Purchase and Sale Disputes: Real Estate Dimensions & Deposits
It is customary for the purchaser of real estate (both commercial and residential) to make a deposit to be held in trust and eventually applied to the purchase price on completion of the transaction. The deposit is often held by the vendors real estate agent in trust. Issues, however, can arise if and when the […]