By Chris Jaglowitz and Tony Bui on Posted in Case StudiesThe Condominium Authority Tribunal, Ontario’s first and only online adjudication body, celebrated its first anniversary on November 1, 2018. Envisioned as a one-stop shop of expert mediators and adjudicators helping condo boards and unit owners resolve condo disputes across Ontario, all entirely online, the CAT began accepting cases in November 2017. CAT’s initial jurisdiction is… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,Financial Issues,Legislation & RegulationA recent small claims court decision signals the end of condo management firms preparing, registering and discharging condominium liens in-house. Page v. Maple Ridge Community Management Ltd., 2017 CanLII 21772 began when a unit owner at YCC 34 failed to pay a special assessment in time. YCC 34’s management firm, Maple Ridge, used its in-house paralegal employee… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesHappy 2017! Here’s our recap of some of the most notable condo law cases from the year gone by. #10 – Cheung v. York Region CC 759, 2016 ONSC 4236 Many condominiums have insufficient parking for occupants and guests, requiring the board to allocate available common element parking spaces in a way that balances various… Continue Reading
By Alex Young on Posted in Case StudiesSection 135 of the Condominium Act, 1998 (the “Act”) gives unit owners, condo corporations, declarants and mortgagees the right to bring applications against one another for relief against conduct that is or threatens to be oppressive or unfairly prejudicial to the applicant or unfairly disregards the interests of the applicant. Where a court finds the… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,Living TogetherApril 13, 2016 was International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Transmisogyny, better known as the “International Day of Pink.” A recent Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision demonstrates that condo boards must apply the Day of Pink concepts every day of the year. In Welykyi v. Rouge Valley Co-operative Homes Inc., the Tribunal chastised… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesThose who have followed our blog for a while have come to expect our “Top 10 cases of the year” to be posted in late December. This is a natural time to reflect on the year gone by, spot trends, make predictions and look forward to the next year’s challenges. This year, we vary our… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,Governance,Living TogetherCondo directors in Ontario are expected to exercise a certain degree of attentiveness, caution and prudence while carrying out their duties. This expectation is known as the “standard of care” and is set out in section 37(1) of the Condominium Act, 1998, which provides: 37. (1) Every director and every officer of a corporation in exercising the powers… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesHappy New Year. Our picks for the top 10 condo law cases of 2014 is an all-Ontario batch, with half being important Court of Appeal rulings. Some of them highlight the dire need for significant revision to our condo law. 10. TSCC 1908 v. Stefco Plumbing & Mechanical Contracting, 2014 ONCA 696 Expired condo lien… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Buying and Selling,Case Studies,Construction Deficiencies,Declaration, By-Laws & RulesAs the buying frenzy for new condos continues, a growing trend threatens to leave purchasers poorly protected against construction deficiencies. Purchasers and their lawyers should pay attention. In recent years, some developers’ agreements of purchase and sale for new units began including limits on the developers’ warranties for those units. But that wording would usually… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesIn addition to people, pets and parking issues, this autumn’s harvest of condo-related court and tribunal decisions includes a bumper crop of court of appeal cases dealing with: Expired condo liens; Contempt of court by directors; Bylaws permitting in-house “ethics reviews” for directors; and Bylaws releasing developers from construction warranties. Plenty of interesting reading. HRTO… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,GovernanceThe recent Ontario Superior Court case of Hogan v. MTCC 595 demonstrates that some condo boards have not yet read the memo about being responsive to unit owners and exercising common sense. Headshaker cases like this one are worth highlighting as examples of how not to run a condominium. In November 2013, MTCC 595 notified… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesThe first half of 2014 brought a bumper crop of condo-related court and tribunal cases from across Canada. The race for the top 10 cases of the year is heating up! ONSC nixes unit owner’s case vs condo & bd over previously-litigated issues. Good discus’n re liability of directors. http://canlii.ca/t/g23p8 HRTO: For giving condo a… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesOwing to a very busy and ice-storm-filled holiday season and an even busier start to 2014 , we have been late in releasing our annual top 10 condo law cases of the year gone by. Mea culpa! In response to popular demand, here are our picks, presented in no particular order. Almost all of them… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesWhile mediation and arbitration have been mandatory for most types of condo disputes for over 12 years, it seems that there are still plenty of condo cases finding their way into the courts. According to the scuttlebutt, the judges are starting to notice this, and they apparently aren’t too happy with the volume of people,… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesAs we approach the last long weekend of summer, here's a batch of condo-related court and tribunal cases we've tweeted since April 1, 2013.… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesCanadian courts and tribunals decided plenty of condo law cases during Q1 of 2013. Here's a roundup of the most notable.… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,Condominium Act, 1998,GovernanceWith rulings like this one, our courts tell us that the days of condo boards running roughshod over owners' rights without consequences are drawing to a close. Directors who fail to heed this warning risk their fortunes.… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesMore holiday reading! Here's the roundup of our tweets on Canadian court and tribunal decisions since April 30, 2012.… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case Studies,Construction DeficienciesThe sheer volume of new condos currently under construction in the Greater Toronto Area will bring a new generation of condominium boards and unit owners to begin the inevitable dance with developers over construction deficiencies. Some will fall into the pitfall known as "limitations."… Continue Reading
By Chris Jaglowitz on Posted in Case StudiesThe landmark case of Jones v. Tsige changed the law on breach of privacy and has practical implications for condominium corporations. I reported on this case to a whole roomful of condo managers just 2 days after it was released, at the ACMO luncheon on January 20, 2012. Here are my speaking notes.… Continue Reading
The Condominium Authority Tribunal, Ontario’s first and only online adjudication body, celebrated its first anniversary on November 1, 2018. Envisioned as a one-stop shop of expert mediators and adjudicators helping condo boards and unit owners resolve condo disputes across Ontario, all entirely online, the CAT began accepting cases in November 2017. CAT’s initial jurisdiction is… Continue Reading
April 13, 2016 was International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Transmisogyny, better known as the “International Day of Pink.” A recent Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision demonstrates that condo boards must apply the Day of Pink concepts every day of the year. In Welykyi v. Rouge Valley Co-operative Homes Inc., the Tribunal chastised… 
Those who have followed our blog for a while have come to expect our “Top 10 cases of the year” to be posted in late December. This is a natural time to reflect on the year gone by, spot trends, make predictions and look forward to the next year’s challenges. This year, we vary our…