Legal Blog

Deemed Provisions in Order / Conversion

2668602 Ontario Inc. v. GWL Realty Advisors Inc. 2026 Ont C.A.

Purchaser bought warehouse fixtures, including extensive racking, during insolvency proceedings but failed to remove them by the deadline after the lease disclaimer. The insolvency order deemed that if purchaser did not do so, purchaser would be deemed to have abandoned them. Purchaser did nothing to remove the racking and the landlord ultimately sold it for $45,000. 18 months later, purchaser sued the landlord for conversion. The Court of Appeal held that the deemed abandonment, in the context of the case, could not be rebutted and, regardless, the facts did not actual rebut the abandonment. Although not applicable, the Court noted that conversion damages would have been the fair market value of the racking at the date of the conversion.

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