Legal Blog

Negligent Construction

Wesley v. Geneau 2020 Ont SCJ

Purchaser sued the vendor, who built the house, for negligent construction and negligent misrepresentation contained in a Seller Property Information Statement. The property was built contrary to the provisions of the Ontario Building Code, resulting in foundation walls failing. The judge had no difficulty in holding that the failure was a safety issue and that the vendor did not give proper information in the SPIS. The judge awarded the full costs to repair the deficiencies and to compensate the purchaser for repair costs that were consequential to the failure. The judge also awarded $5,000 in general damages.

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