Legal Blog

Breach of Court Order

Smith v. GCAT Group Inc. 2021 Ont CA

Homeowners had sued a building supplier for allegedly supplying improper limestone The owners had done all they could to refuse to allow the supplier to test the limestone, notwithstanding court orders to do so. Ultimately the motion judge dismissed the action because of the owner’s breach of the various orders. On appeal, the owners blamed everything on their lawyer and sought leave to file fresh evidence demonstrating that the lawyer gave erroneous advice on which they relied. The Court of Appeal refused to do so, stating that there was ample evidence in the record to the contrary and, in any case, the owners could pursue a negligence action against their lawyer if they thought he provided erroneous advice.

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