Ontario Condo Law Blog : Toronto Condominium Lawyer & Attorney : Gardiner Miller Arnold Law Firm : Ontario, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener

Debtors and troublemakers are no longer immune from receiving legal process on the Lord’s Day.

Ontario’s long-standing prohibition against serving legal documents and enforcing court orders on Sundays was abolished amidst little fanfare as of December 15, 2009, when section 124 of the Courts of Justice Act was repealed by the Good Government Act, 2009.  This omnibus bill amended hundreds of Ontario statutes, including the Condo Act.

Before its repeal, section 124 read as follows:

No document shall be served and no order shall be executed on Sunday, except with leave of the court.

This development is of special interest to process servers, bailiffs and lawyers who go to sleep on Friday night thinking there are only two more working days until Monday.

Those who spend Sundays on more spiritual pursuits will recall that:

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

                                                                                                         – Matthew 5:40

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Here are some of the more newsy condo-related items tweeted on our microblog since mid-March.

Human rights litigation emerging as cost concern for small/medium businesses: http://bit.ly/cTNJJ6 (via @globeandmail) - Same for condos!

Renters to be shielded from impact of HST on utilities (via @torontostar): http://bit.ly/cetwHy - But condo unit owners have to suck it up! 

RT @RmarcheseMPP: Does your Trinity Spadina condo have an AGM coming up? Let me know--I'd love to come and chat with you and the other residents. 

We hope his Toronto project fares better - Trump condo-hotel in Ft Lauderdale faces foreclosure (via SunSentinel) - http://bit.ly/drcn1L 

Workplace Violence and Harassment update - RT @lisastam: New fact sheet from Ontario Ministry of Labour on Bill 168 - http://bit.ly/c73NM2 

RT @OntMinLabour: Workplace violence compliance guideline now available from MOL - http://tinyurl.com/ycpawnx

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The Ontario Superior Court recently restrained a meeting called by unit owners after the condo failed to respond to a duly-filed requisition for calling a meeting to remove directors.

Finding itself in the midst of serious financial trouble and facing stiff resistance by owners after making several tough choices, the board decided in December to apply to the court for the appointment of an administrator. The application was not commenced until three months later, in late March, a few weeks after receiving a requisition by owners to hold a meeting to remove the board.

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Does your condo have what it takes to be Condo of the Year?

If so, Canadian Condominium Institute - Toronto and Area Chapter wants to hear from you. They’re accepting applications until May 1, 2010 for the last quarter finalists.

$5,000 is up for grabs, together with a customized street sign.  What's more, however, is the prestige of being known as one of the best-run condos in town.

Criteria for this award include:

• Effective Use of Committees
• Communications
• Forward 'Thinkingness'
• Good Governance
• Social Fabric of the Community
• Energy Initiatives
• Consistency
• Environmental Concerns
• Any other unique approach or program

Visit CCI-T’s website here for more details.  Good luck to all entrants!

Any Canadian condo corporation whose board and owners want to be heard by government, have easy access to leading experts and top notch condo education should consider joining their local chapter of CCI. With 15 chapters across Canada, there’s one near you.

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Another interesting lesson emerges from Jeffers v. YCC 98, the slander of title case we reported about earlier this year.

After dismissing the plaintiffs’ lawsuit at trial, the court ordered the plaintiffs (the unit owners) to pay about 50% of the legal costs incurred by the defendant condo corporation and the co-defendant bank.

Unsatisfied with that costs award, the condo made further submissions about why it should recover 100% of its legal costs from the unsuccessful unit owners. In support of that request, the condo relied on an offer to settle it had made during the litigation and also section 134(5) of the Condo Act, which provides as follows:

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Here is this months’ instalment of condo-related goodies from around the blogosphere.

Top 10 Issues for 2010 and Beyond…. – Here’s a list of issues that associations are going to face this year and in the near term, courtesy of the Community Association Considerations blog.

ROC Presidents Must Vote at Board Meetings – Florida law blogger Scott Gordon helps shatter the misconception that association presidents can’t vote and explains how Robert’s Rules of Order is often misinterpreted.

Elections in HOAs and Condos - Can the Board Endorse Candidates? – California condo law guru Beth Grimm tackles this issue head-on. 

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