Legal Blog

Leaky Bid Appeal

In our newsletter of March 2003, we discussed the British Columbia trial decision of Silex Restoration Ltd. v. Strata Plan VR 2096. In this case, the tendering general had delivered a non-compliant bid in that its bid bond was for 2 months rather than the required 3 months. The president of the condo had orally notified the general that its bid was accepted subject to certain conditions. Ultimately, the condo cancelled the project.

The trial judge held that since the tender was informal, the condo could not accept it. Further, he held that the condo did not waive the bid bond’s non-compliance; at the time the president purported to notify the general of acceptance, the president did not even know of the non-compliance.

The general appealed. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It held that submitting a bid bond for the wrong term was material and that, as a result, contract A was not created when the bid was delivered. The Court also held that, in any case, a casual conversation between the president and the general neither constituted acceptance of the defective tender, nor did it waive the non-compliance.