Case Law Highlights

We’ve had some exciting court decisions in the condominium field over the past year or so. Here are my Five Favorites.

1. Mazzilli v. Middlesex Standard Condominium Corporation No. 823 (Ontario Superior Court – September 3, 2015)

Repair and maintenance projects (falling within the mandate of the Board) can sometimes include quite significant changes of material and/or appearance, without triggering any need for owner involvement under Section 97 of the Condominium Act, 1998.

To read more about this case, see our previous blog post A Board’s Mandate to Make Changes to the Common Elements.

2. MTCC No. 985 v. Cheney (Ontario Superior Court of Justice – December 1, 2015)

Condominium corporations must take reasonable steps to prevent excessive noise disturbances, including noise from one unit to another. However, condominium residents are not entitled to absolute quiet. They must be prepared to accept levels and types of noise that one would reasonably expect given the age and construction of the building.

3. Ryan v. York Condominium Corporation No. 340 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice – April 13, 2016)

Condominium corporations must investigate and attend to required maintenance and repairs with reasonable haste. Otherwise, the corporation may be liable for any extra costs incurred by an owner (due to the delay).

To read more about this case, see our previous blog post Owner Awarded Damages for Corporation’s Slow Repairs.

4. Wu v. Carleton Condominium Corporation (Ontario Small Claims Court – April 20, 2016)

An owner may be entitled (under Section 55 of the Condominium Act, 1998) to see the corporation’s list of owners’ names and mailing addresses, assuming the owner has a proper reason to see the list, consistent with the purposes of the Act. However, an owner is not entitled to see the corporation’s list of email addresses of other owners without their consent.

To read more about this case, see our previous blog post Is An Owner’s Email Address Part of Their Address for Service?.

5. 3716724 Canada Inc. v. Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 375 (Ontario Court of Appeal – August 30, 2016)

The “business judgment rule” applies to decisions of condominium Boards of Directors. When arriving at a decision (such as whether or not to grant an owner’s request for a change to the common elements), the Directors must give the matter fair and reasoned consideration, including proper consideration of the rights and interests of all owners. As long as the decision-making process is reasonable, and as long as the Board’s ultimate decision is “within a range of reasonable choices”, the Courts will show deference, and therefore allow the Board’s decision to stand, even if the Court might have arrived at a different choice.

To read more about this case, see our previous blog post Court of Appeal Confirms Boards are Entitled to Deference.

And for any more questions about condos, get in touch with us.