Real Estate Litigation Articles

Does it make sense for neighbours to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees over what a judge described as an insignificant piece of disputed land along the shared boundary? 81 Pears Avenue and 83 Pears Ave.: Scene of an expensive dispute between...

Case shows using joint ownership as an estate planning tool to avoid the payment of probate when one owner dies is risky, writes Bob Aaron. Should the question of ownership end up in court, legal fees can outstrip the savings on probate. A decision of the Superior...

Door-to-door sales of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment prohibited in Ontario. Judge finds supplier made fraudulent misrepresentations. The experience of Ottawa homeowner Kim Thompson with a company promising energy savings on her heating equipment...

Jeffrey Lem, 61, director of titles, responsible for administering registration of province’s 7.5 million parcels of land, dead at 61. Jeffrey Lem: His job involved making the land registry system work fairly, seamlessly and efficiently. Ontario’s real estate...

Builder tacked on $30,533 in cost increases. Case shows importance of reviewing clauses in proposed purchase agreements, writes Bob Aaron. An itemized list provided to the buyers detailed higher charges for subfloors, masonry, rooftop deck, parapet and lumber. Sayers...

What happens when homes get built in the wrong place? Two cases show the perils of not doing your homework, writes Bob Aaron. I’ve always found it fascinating to see what happens when a builder builds a house on land it doesn’t own. The latest example of this dilemma...

Case suggests certain items of city infrastructure, such as backyard catch basins, can be the property of the homeowner to do with as they please. A decision of the Ontario Superior Court last month has allowed 4,000 Vaughan homeowners to disconnect their homes from...

Anyone these days can generate an emoji, but without ample evidence to confirm the source, its use is neither efficient, nor reliable, says Bob Aaron. Is it possible to buy or sell real estate by attaching an electronic emoji to an agreement? The question arises in...

Agreement at centre of case required buyers pay for extra increases in construction costs as sworn to on behalf of builder. The judge wasn’t having it. It has become an unpleasant fact of life in new home construction that some builders have implemented creative...

Cover for water damage deemed not in place despite daily visits to vacant property. Talk to your broker about any change in risks, says Bob Aaron. A homeowner in Hamilton learned the hard way that there are huge differences between insurance policies, and that the...