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Developer can’t charge buyer for adjustments not included in Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Bellisario v. 2200 Bromsgrove Development Inc.)
Thursday, May 15, 2025James R.G. CookLitigationDevelopment, Buyer, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Over the past few years, there have been several media reports of developers in Ontario attempting to levy charges against buyers for various matters that were not included in the original purchase price....
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Buyer cannot force seller to remove notice registered on title by third party (Brighton Breeze Ltd. v. Noel Property Management Ltd.)
Friday, April 25, 2025James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Ontario, Land Title Act
An agreement of purchase and sale (APS) for a real estate transaction may contain a term allowing a buyer to demand that a seller take steps...
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Do requisitions concerning gas leases go to root of title? (Van Hove v. Dryuff)
Tuesday, April 1, 2025James R.G. Cook, Isabel YooLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Root of Title
In a real estate transaction, the agreement of purchase and sale will include a deadline by which a buyer may submit requisitions for issues that they want the seller to address prior to closing...
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Sellers repudiated agreement of purchase and sale by failing to address outstanding work orders (Reel em Inn and Resort v. RNR Doemel Enterprises)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025James R.G. CookLitigationSeller, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
A seller’s failure to advise a buyer that outstanding work orders against a property will be addressed before closing may entitle the buyer to terminate the transaction, as demonstrated by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision in Reel em Inn and Resort v. RNR Doemel Enterprises, 2025 ONSC 805...
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Buyer breached agreement to purchase home that was destroyed by fire (McDonald v. Lowrie)
Thursday, March 6, 2025James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Breach, Property
Often there may be several weeks or months between the signing of a binding Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) and the scheduled completion date for the purchase of a property...
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Court rejects force majeure and frustration defences following aborted transaction (Liddell v. Mousavi)
Tuesday, November 26, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Property
Parties to a binding agreement to buy a property may wish to get out of the deal if their circumstances change before closing, particularly if they have not been able to secure financing by the closing date...
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Realtor liable for failing to confirm location of new build property (Zhang v. Primont Homes (Caledon) Inc.)
Friday, August 23, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate, Caledon
In some cases, misrepresentations made prior to the signing of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS), may allow a buyer to sue for damages, as demonstrated...
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Claim for misrepresentation of property tax amount in real estate listing defeated by entire agreement clause (Langen v. Sharma)
Wednesday, August 7, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
When deciding to buy a property, buyers may review various representations in the real estate listing which purport to list the property’s key facts...
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Buyer fails to prove damages resulting from sellers’ breach of agreement to sell gas station (2511899 Ontario Inc v. 2221465 Ontario)
Monday, July 29, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
When a seller breaches an agreement to complete a transaction, the jilted buyer may assume that they will be in a position to obtain damages for breach of contract. This result is...
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Agreement of Purchase and Sale not binding due to addition of unsigned Schedule (Ali v. Patel)
Thursday, June 20, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
In Ali v. Patel, 2024 ONSC 3505 (CanLII), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice determined that a binding agreement of purchase and sale had not been formed between a seller and buyer...
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Seller did not repudiate agreement of purchase and sale notwithstanding missed deadline (Vandermolen Homes Inc. v. Mani)
Monday, May 27, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
In cases where a buyer fails to complete the purchase of a property, they may try to argue that it was the seller who was in breach of the...
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Specific performance ordered in cottage purchase dispute (Coffey v. High)
Monday, January 29, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
In cases where a seller has breached an agreement to transfer title to a property, a buyer may seek an...
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Sellers liable for deficiencies due to rectification of Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Melo v. Hiebert)
Friday, January 26, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
The legal doctrine of rectification is a remedy that may be available to correct errors in an agreement to give effect to the true intentions of the...
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Relisting of property before closing date did not amount to a repudiation of agreement of purchase and sale (Zoleta v. Singh and RE/MAX Twin City Realty)
Monday, November 20, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Contract Law
If a buyer determines that they may not be able to complete a binding agreement to purchase a property by the agreed-upon completion date, they may wish to seek an extension of the...
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Buyer fails to prove property re-sold for improvident price following aborted transaction (Switzer v. Petrie)
Tuesday, September 19, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
In collapsing real estate markets, buyers who fail to complete a purchase may face liability vastly exceeding any deposit they may have paid. In most cases, the...
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Buyer’s failure to obtain severance amounted to anticipatory breach of contract (Stayside Corporation v. Cyndric Group)
Friday, August 25, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Ontario Planning Act
Agreements for the sale of real estate may sometimes require one of the parties to complete certain steps before the transaction can be completed, such as...
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Court refuses to impose 5 pm deadline for delivery of real estate closing proceeds (More v. 1362279 Ontario Ltd. (Seiko Homes))
Tuesday, August 8, 2023James R.G. Cook, Eli BordmanLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Real estate transactions may be scheduled to be completed by a certain time of day, depending on the wording of the Agreement of Purchase...
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Seller not liable for water damage or foundation issues discovered after closing
Tuesday, May 2, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
Litigation between buyers and sellers often concerns whether or not a seller had an obligation to disclose deficiencies with a property that were discovered after closing.
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Developer required to answer discovery questions about misleading other buyers
Thursday, March 23, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
During the course of litigation, plaintiffs may seek evidence that a defendant has engaged in a similar pattern of impugned conduct with other people who...
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Seller allowed to re-schedule Tarion closing date following
Friday, January 27, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationOntario, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
New homes in Ontario may include a warranty from the builder for certain construction deficiencies and other...
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Limitation Period bars claim for breach of Assignment of Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Wednesday, November 9, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Limitation Periods, Limitations Act
In Ontario, there is a general two-year limitation period for claims relating to a breach of contract which starts on the day when a plaintiff discovers that damage from a breach occurred and knows that a legal proceeding would be an...
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Relief from forfeiture not granted where buyer claimed lack of capacity to enter into real estate purchase agreement
Friday, June 24, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Courts of Justice Act
As real estate markets fall, buyers are sometimes left scrambling to find alternate sources of financing when the available mortgage funds turn out...
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Lawyer not vicariously liable to opposite party in failed real estate transaction
Thursday, June 23, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. Cook, Daria RisteskaLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
There appears to be a growing propensity on the part of litigants to sue the opposite party’s lawyer when a transaction fails or something else...
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Buyer breached duty of good faith in failing to complete assignment agreement
Tuesday, June 21, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Town of Caledon, GTA Real Estate
Buyers of pre-construction properties in Ontario sometimes enter into an assignment agreement with another buyer before the completion...
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Neighbour's management plan did not improperly divert equity from plaintiff property
Wednesday, June 15, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale
The case of Rivas v. Anobile, 2022 ONSC 3446 (CanLII), demonstrates the issues that may arise when all the terms and objectives of an...
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Environmental assessment firm not liable to buyer who did not commission their report
Tuesday, June 14, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale
Buyers should be wary about relying on inspections, appraisals or other reports prepared by a company with whom they have not directly...
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No “waiver by conduct” of financing condition in agreement of purchase and sale
Monday, June 6, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationCondominium, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
With the cooling of the real estate markets, buyers may be in a position to negotiate a limited time period to have a home inspection, arrange financing, or complete other due diligence before...
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Property developer awarded $11 million in lost profits against seller who refused to complete transaction
Thursday, March 17, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
*Trial decision regarding damages overturned by Court of Appeal.
See Lost profits of $11 million not the appropriate measure of damages for aborted sale to developer (The Rosseau Group Inc. v. 2528061 Ontario Inc.)
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Court refuses to impose 5 pm deadline for delivery of real estate closing proceeds
Tuesday, March 8, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, GTA Real Estate
Real estate transactions may be scheduled to be completed by a certain time of day, depending on the wording of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS). In some cases ...
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Sellers not allowed to rely on “escape clause” to accept a better offer
Monday, November 29, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
In some cases, sellers may wish to ‘hedge their bets’ by accepting a conditional offer that contains a term allowing them to continue to market the property for sale until...
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Buyers bound to agreement of purchase and sale negotiated by family friend
Tuesday, October 26, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
Buyers who rely on real estate services provided by a family friend would do well to ensure that they are fully aware of the consequences of entering into a...
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Buyer entitled to repudiate agreement after discovering water damage
Wednesday, August 11, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
During the period between the time an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) is signed and the completion date, a property being purchased usually remains in...
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Buyers lose right to recover deposit after seller breaches agreement
Tuesday, August 3, 2021Litigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale
After an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) is signed and a deposit is paid it may be weeks or months before the scheduled completion date. In the case of new properties under construction, it could be...
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Seller entitled to repossess townhouse after buyer fails to complete purchase
Friday, July 2, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, GTA Real Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Sales of new condominiums and townhouses may sometimes allow a buyer to move into a unit on an “interim occupancy date” which may be several months before the purchase is scheduled to be finally...
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Buyer’s failure to waive conditions nullifies agreement of purchase and sale
Friday, June 4, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationGTA Real Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Land Title Act
While conditional offers may be rare in the Greater Toronto Area, where multiple bidders compete for most properties, buyers in less heated markets may...
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Buyer loses $100,000 deposit after refusing to purchase condominium
Tuesday, May 25, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Ontario Court of Appeal
It is settled law in Ontario that when a buyer fails to complete an agreement of purchase and sale, the seller is entitled to retain the deposit without having to prove any loss. This means that...
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Buyers’ liability to sellers in aborted real estate transactions - Part 2
Monday, May 3, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
We have previously addressed a number of circumstances in which buyers unsuccessfully attempted to back out of a binding Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) for the purchase...
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Owner of corporation personally liable for litigation misfeasance
Wednesday, April 7, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Personal Liability, Ontario
One of the perceived benefits of using a corporation for real estate or other business transactions is to shield the individual owner from personal liability for costs and other...
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Seller Not Responsible for Zoning or Future Use Limitations of a Property
Tuesday, December 22, 2020James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateZoning By-Law, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Ontario
A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice affirmed that preliminary discussions between a buyer and seller regarding the potential zoning or...
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Misrepresentation in Square Footage leads to Rescission of Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Wednesday, December 2, 2020James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Stouffville, Ontario Court of Appeal, Misrepresentation
A misrepresentation by the seller and real estate agent as to the square footage of a residential property in Stouffville, Ontario resulted in the rescission of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale...
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Discovery of Water Damage Insufficient to Terminate Real Estate Purchase Transaction
Friday, October 23, 2020James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Damages, Flooding, Insurance Policy
In Bilotta v. Booth, 2020 ONCA 522, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that the buyer of a residential property did not have the right to...
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Real Estate Investor's Claim for Lost Opportunity Damages Rejected
Tuesday, October 20, 2020James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Damages
In Akelius Canada Inc. v. 2436196 Ontario Inc., 2020 ONSC 6182 (CanLII), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice...
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Buyer's Claim for Lost Value Damages of a Residential Subdivision Home
Wednesday, September 2, 2020James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Contract Law, Damages
The party seeking damages arising from a failed real estate transaction is often the seller, who seeks to recover the agreed-upon sale price from a buyer. Conversely, when a seller breaches the agreement...
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