Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of March 31 to April 4, 2025.
In Business Development Bank of Canada v. 170 Willowdale Investments Corp., the appeal concerned the distribution of proceeds from the sale of hotel assets in a receivership. The appellant argued that RBC, an unsecured creditor, should not receive proceeds from the sale because part of the debt owed to it was not yet payable. The Court upheld the motion judge's decision and dismissed the appeal, confirming RBC's entitlement to payment. In McKenzie-Barnswell v. Xpert Credit Control Solutions Inc. the Court upheld the trial judge’s rescission of a construction contract on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentation. However, the trial judge had awarded expectation damages rather than reliance damages necessary to put the plaintiff back into the position they were before entering into the contract. The Court therefore reduced the damages award, including finding that proper amounts owing in respect of mortgage funds advanced remained owing and were not erased as a result of the fraud.