For buyers, the bottom line is that contractual deadlines are not to be taken lightly. If you intend to complete a deal, you must ensure that your funding is lined up in plenty of time and that all your other obligations under the APS — even minor ones – have been fulfilled as agreed.
Transferring assets in the lead-up to an insolvency could expose debtors to two similar, but distinct claims from their creditors these being claims for oppression and fraudulent conveyance.
Disposing of assets on the eve of insolvency is likely to be met with a claim for oppression, fraudulent conveyance or both, especially if the transfers were made in the face of a legal claim from one of your creditors.
The test for fraudulent conveyance is potentially an easier one for creditors to meet than the one for oppression.
Any buyer who terminates a binding Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) should expect the vendor to move for the forfeiture of their deposit immediately. In a depressed market, an innocent seller may even be entitled to further damages to make up the difference between the sale price agreed in the failed deal and any lower bid they ultimately accept.
However, purchasers who successfully shift the blame for the collapsed deal to the vendor may be able to recover their deposit, even if they were the ones to call it off.
Juris Education launched this series of interviews with noted lawyers to help aspiring and current law students learn from the best. O’Connor’s candid account of the sacrifices she’s made to reach to become a successful lawyer and Managing Partner.
A party might end up with a default judgment against them in a civil case for all kinds of reasons. However, courts are generally inclined to be forgiving when a party can present a reasonable excuse for their previous delinquent behaviour. The bottom line for defendants who can provide a reasonable explanation for their own default and any delay in bringing the motion to set aside is that they stand a very good chance of success.
Anyone dealing with parties who are — or may be — covered by a Mareva order must take considerable care when engaging in transactions to ensure they stay on the right side of the court.
Rule 14.05(3) of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure sets out the circumstances when a matter can proceed by way of application, allowing the judge to decide a discrete issue or potentially even the entire case based entirely on a paper record and oral arguments, without hearing from any live witnesses.
In the appropriate case, this allows the parties to circumvent some of the worst aspects of litigation: the costs and scheduling delays associated with discoveries and a full trial.
However, the process is not without risks. Judges retain the ability to convert an application into an action, which means that you could end up right back where you started if the court concludes that further evidence is required.
General contractors are among the most common users of the construction lien process, but Ontario’s Construction Act opens the door to any person under contract who has supplied services or materials for the “improvement” of the property, which could include alterations, additions, repair work, or even complete or partial demolition.
The commercial real estate industry can breathe a little easier after the Court of Appeal for Ontario restored a sense of normalcy to the measure of damages for collapsed property deals. Typically, when a commercial real estate deal fails to close, the measure of...
It is clear that judges are prepared to award damages to those who can prove that they acquired a sexual infection from a person who knew they were a carrier and failed to be up-front about their sexual health.
Courts will look at various factors to determine whether damages are warranted, including the age of the person, the timing of other sexual relationships and any other health risks associated with the particular disease, such as the permanent nature of a herpes infection.