Is it worth taking someone to court over a failed house purchase, assuming there appears to be grounds to do so?
A decision of the Superior Court of Justice last year is a classic example of the high cost of justice in Ontario and why parties to real estate litigation need to be more realistic in their expectations.
In February, 2020, Yi-Hang Chan and Chiao-Wei Hsiao signed an agreement to buy 16 Bryant Ave. in Toronto from Shan Mangal for $1,010,000. They paid a deposit of $50,500 to the broker.
Prior to closing, Chan and Hsiao discovered that the City of Toronto had four open building permit files and one active inspection file in its records for the property. Their lawyer sent what is known as a requisition letter to Mangal’s lawyer demanding that the city’s files be closed.
The law is that the seller of a property is required