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15-Yr Limitation and Wills

Tessaro v. Gora 2025 Ont SCJ

A lawyer drafted a will that had an ambiguous residual clause. The beneficiaries under each interpretation settled the issue between themselves and both sued the lawyer for the damages that they incurred because of the ambiguity causing the settlement. The lawyer drafted the will in 1991. The beneficiaries commenced their actions in 2019 and 2020. The beneficiaries had no problem meeting the basic two-year rule under the Limitations Act, 2002 because they did not know of the problem until after the testator died in 2018 and, indeed, until their settlement in 2024. However, the motion judge decided that s.15(2) of the Act precluded their actions because the 15-year absolute limitation period, which started January 1, 2004, had expired.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.