The Certificate of Pending Litigation and an Interest in Land
November 29, 2023 By Brian Babcock We have written before about the importance of certificates of pending litigation (CPL), and the process to discharge them. Because a certificate is usually obtained without notice, the defendant’s discharge motion is often the big fight. If the Plaintiff loses, not only might they not recover what they want, […]
Certificates of Pending Litigation
November 6, 2023 By Jonathon Clark Do you know what a “certificate of pending litigation” ( often called a CPL) is and does? A CPL is a document issued by a court- in Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice – when a party, the Plaintiff, is suing, claiming an interest in land. A CPL is […]
Pick a Number, Any Number
October 23, 2023 By Brian Babcock You agree to purchase a condominium, but the vendor breaches the agreement. THE ISSUE What are you entitled to as damages? The judge will not simply pick a number- there are rules and processes to be followed. THE CASE According to the Divisional Court in Nguyen v. Hu, in […]
The Oppression Remedy and Piercing the Corporate Veil
October 10, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre What do you do if your tenant (or any other creditor) fails to pay you after the controlling shareholder/director has stripped all the cash out of the company? Suing the corporation is not productive. You want to sue the person with the money. But what do you sue them […]
Adverse Possession and Municipal Lands
September 8, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik THE ISSUE Is adverse possession available to extinguish the title of a municipality in favour of someone who claims adverse possession? The answer, says the Ontario Court of Appeal, is “sometimes”. BACKGROUND First, almost all land in Ontario, and especially in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario, is in the […]
Is It a Lease or a License?
June 6, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik A license is a form of contractual agreement such as an agreement which allows the use of property or of a portion of a property by the individual or business receiving the license. It differs from a lease in that a license does not give the same exclusivity of […]
Who Is More Innocent?
May 5, 2023 By Brian Babcock The moral high ground strikes again. THE ISSUE Though the phrase is seldom used explicitly in judgments, the centrality of this concept to equity is the silent explanation of the result of many civil cases. THE CASE This is once again demonstrated by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. […]
The Scope Of The Entire Agreement Clause
May 2, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik If you are a landlord and promise customer parking as part of convincing a prospective tenant to sign a lease, make sure that it is provided, even if not mentioned in the lease. Especially if it is not mentioned in the lease. THE ISSUE Otherwise, do not expect your […]
Is Adverse Possession Dead In Ontario?
February 10, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik Don’t take adverse possession off life support yet. THE ISSUE Most lawyers in Ontario assumed that adverse possession – the ability to obtain the rights of an owner of land by possessing it as if you were the owner – would have vanished by 2022. Ontario has transitioned almost […]
To Win, You Need Evidence
January 27, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre Leaving a judge in a quandary is never a good thing. Lawsuits over aborted real estate transactions seemed to be popping up almost as often as estate litigation these days. This is particularly true in the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe, but it’s bound to be on […]