Stevenson Whelton LLP lawyers, Ed Hiutin and Arina Joanisse recently successfully argued a motion seeking the discharge of a certificate of pending litigation (“CPL”) from title to a residential piece of property in Markham. In Saunders v Ammar, 2018 ONSC 6252, the plaintiff obtained leave to register the CPL through an ex parte, in writing motion (i.e. without notice to the defendant). The plaintiff alleged that he had acquired an equitable interest in the property by virtue of the doctrines of constructive and resulting trust, through an unwritten investment agreement.
On behalf of the defendant, Stevenson Whelton LLP argued that the plaintiff failed to make full and frank disclosure of numerous material facts. The Court sided with the defendant, discharged the CPL from title and rejected the plaintiff’s claim for alternate security. In its ruling, the Court held that the “magnitude” of the plaintiff’s non-disclosure was significant, and that the case did not reveal any “special circumstances” entitling the plaintiff to alternate security.