Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

In June 2012, my colleague, Craig Ferris wrote about the B.C. Court of Appeal decision in 229 Burrard Residential Limited Partnership v. Essolat where the Court endorsed a strict application of the terms of the B.C. Real Estate Development Marketing Act (“REDMA”).  There, the Court set aside a pre-construction sales contract and ordered the return of the purchase ...

In an earlier blog I discussed a B.C. Supreme Court decision involving problem strata owners who had, for years, defied efforts by the strata council to moderate their outrageous conduct.  The case was significant because the court ordered the strata unit sold as the only reasonable means of addressing the problems created by its owners.  The court held that it had ...

Two young friends pool their meagre resources to buy a piece of property together.  Their goal is to build equity and have a place to live.  Alone, neither could afford it.  They split the mortgage payments and share the expenses.  Things go well for the first few years and their equity increases.  Time passes and things change.  One wants to keep the real estate as a long term ...

On August 26, 2011, I blogged on the British Columbia Supreme Court decision in 229 Burrard Residential Limited Partnership v Essolat (“299”).  299 was seen as levelling the ground for disputes under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act  (British Columbia) (“REDMA”).  This decision increased the likelihood that developers would be able to enforce ...

Last summer, I blogged on the ever expanding body of jurisprudence arising from purchasers of “pre-built” condominiums attempting to use their rescission rights provided under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (British Columbia) (“REDMA”) to avoid completing their condominium purchases.  In particular, my blog related to the more developer friendly ...

Agreements to purchase real estate are generally negotiated between real estate agents without the benefit of legal advice.  This can often lead to vagueness when “special” terms are added to the standard form agreements of purchase and sale. A case in point is the recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Peier v. Cressey Whistler Townhomes Limited ...

As any strata owner knows, an obstreperous unit owner can make everyone else’s life hell.  Keith Fraser, in a recent article in The Province reported on a B.C. Supreme Court ruling ordering problem strata owners to sell their unit as a result of their outrageous conduct.  The decision is interesting for two reasons.  First, it encourages strata councils to seek redress from ...

I previously wrote on the legal issues faced by developers of residential condominium projects in British Columbia relating to the Real Estate Marketing Development Act (“REDMA”). The focus on REDMA compliance must not, however, distract a developer from focusing on more basic contractual compliance which can also create enforceability issues.  A case in point is ...

The sale of condominiums in British Columbia is a big business.  The financing for the development of these condominiums is often dependant on the successful marketing and sale of the condominium units prior to construction.  These marketing and sale activities are governed by the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (British Columbia) (“REDMA”) which, among ...

A West Vancouver homeowner was recently dinged with a civil judgment for $97,000 for cutting down ten trees on his neighbour’s property.  This included a $35,000 award for punitive damages, one of the largest such awards in many years. 

The punitive damages were awarded because the defendant was reckless in determining the location of his property line.  He made no inquiry of ...