Legal Blog

Additional Mortgage Charges

NRD Management Services Ltd. v. Litwin 2021 Ont SCJ

The defendant had obtained financing to refinance a mortgage in default, but took issue with the additional charges that the mortgagee was demanding to discharge the mortgage. In this case, the mortgagee had charged a three-month termination bonus after issuing power of sale. By removing the option from the mortgagor to redeem the mortgage, that interest would be a penalty and was disallowed. The judge also reduced some of the legal fees, deciding they were excessive, and some of the other fees, deciding that they were not necessarily applicable to the actual administrative costs incurred even though they were allowed under the mortgage document. Given that the motion success was divided, the judge did not award any costs of the motion.

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