In the recently released decision of Singh v. Trump, the Ontario Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court decision and granted summary judgment in favour of two investors in the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto, on the basis that the developer made representations to purchasers that purchasing the hotel condominium units would result in highly profitable rental income. The court found those representations to have been false, and that making those representations was in contravention of a previous Ontario Securities Commission ruling which prohibited the developer from marketing the hotel condominium units as a profit-making investment.
The Court of Appeal also reversed the motion judge’s dismissal of claims of oppression, collusion, and breaches of fiduciary duty as against current US presidential candidate Donald Trump and other invidiual defendants, on the basis that those issues were not properly put before the summary judgment motion judge at the motion. The court made no determinations on the merits of these particular claims, and upheld the dismissal of other claims against Donald Trump which were properly before the summary judgment motion judge, but noted that it would be “unfair” to dismiss claims which were not argued before the motion judge.
If you are involved in a condominium dispute or a contract dispute involving claims of misrepresentation, contact us for an initial consultation.