The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its endorsement in 1784773 Ontario Inc. v. K-W Labour Association Inc., 2014 ONCA 288, a case which involved the purchase and sale of a “haunted” commercial property. In this case, the purchaser sued the vendor after hearing rumours that the property was haunted by ghosts of people who were murdered or had died on the property. The purchaser alleged that the vendor failed to disclose these latent defects in the property. The vendor brought a summary judgment motion to dismiss the claims against it.
The judge hearing the summary judgment motion held that there was no genuine issue requiring a trial for the following reasons: (i) there was no evidence that anyone died on the property, either by natural causes or some criminal act; (ii) the vendor was not required to disclose that someone had died on the property or that the property may be haunted; (iii) there was no evidence as to how the purchaser could prove the property was haunted; and (iv) there was no evidence the property was unfit for habitation or dangerous.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s ruling to dismiss the purchaser’s claims on summary judgment, and noted that the parties acknowledged there was no evidence the property was haunted nor was there any evidence the purchaser suffered any damages even if the property was haunted.
If you require legal advice with respect to real estate purchase and sale litigation, please contact us for an initial consultation.
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