Known Issues (news/court)

[lawsuit_or_court - condo fee arrears / foreclosure] An owner applied to clarify a prior order and reinstate an appeal of a master's order in a condo fee arrears lawsuit (unpaid fees totaling $8,143.73 as of March 31, 2009); the court found the earlier judge had struck the owner's appeal in its entirety as out of time, leaving the master's order standing, and dismissed the application for clarification and reinstatement. (2011-10-31); [lawsuit_or_court - condo fee arrears / foreclosure] An owner of four condo units disputed unpaid condominium contributions and caveats registered by Condo Corp No. 0311443, which had obtained summary judgment for $1,562.62 and sought foreclosure, while the owner's $200,000 counterclaim for mismanagement was summarily dismissed; on appeal, the Court of Appeal refused to strike the owner's appeal, holding that the matter in controversy extended beyond the dollar amount to whether any debt existed at all, so permission to appeal under the $25,000 rule was not required. (2016-05-25); [lawsuit_or_court - condo fee arrears / foreclosure] An owner of four condo units failed to pay condo fees, interest, a $115.50 locksmith charge, and related costs, leading the condo corporation to file caveats and sue for recovery and foreclosure; a chambers judge granted summary judgment totalling about $1,500 plus the locksmith fee, dismissed the owner's counterclaim, and ordered him to pay $55,000 solicitor-client costs to the corporation and $23,532.43 in costs to the condo manager, which the owner paid (about $80,000) to redeem his units. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, upholding the judgment, finding no requirement for a board resolution, no invalidity in caveats stating 'under $5000', and no error in the costs awards, and awarded full-indemnity costs of the appeal. (2016-11-17); [lawsuit_or_court - owner vs board dispute / oppression] An owner sought to amend his counterclaim against the condo corporation and its management companies relating to caveats and certificates of lis pendens registered against four of his condo units for amounts higher than proven, which were not discharged despite full payment of arrears years earlier; the court allowed amendments pleading facts within the same factual matrix (including post-filing events) but struck amendments that merely pleaded evidence (large quotes from prior decisions) and barred a new fraudulent concealment claim as statute-barred under the two-year limitation period. (2022-02-03); [lawsuit_or_court - construction deficiencies / building envelope] A contractor sought to stay its builder's lien court action over disputed chimney box construction and compel arbitration against the condo corporation; the court refused, citing undue delay, a likely expired limitation period, and non-consenting parties, so litigation continues. (2017-08-16)