Ontario Court Finds Jurisdiction Resulting From Cumulative Effect of Individually Insufficient Connecting Factors

Andrew Ottaway, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.Business Litigation, Civil Litigation, Commercial Contracts, Commercial Litigation, Contract Disputes, Contract Termination, Cross-Border Litigation, Forum Challenges, International Sale of Goods, Jurisdictional Challenges0 Comments

In Freshway Services Inc. v. CdEnviro Ltd., 2017 ONSC 6591, the plaintiff Ontario company contracted with the defendant Northern Irish company.  The defendant was to build a waste recycling facility and install it at the plaintiff’s facility in Ontario.  A third party to provide warranty coverage and servicing for components of the waste recycling plant, once it was built and delivered to Ontario.  A dispute arose between the parties, and the plaintiff sued the defendant in Ontario.  The defendant brought a motion to stay the Ontario action on the basis that Ontario lacked jurisdiction. The motion judge considered the the presumptive connecting factors for jurisdiction set out by the Supreme Court in Club Resorts Ltd. v Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17, being whether the contract was made in the Ontario: whether the defendant was carrying on actual business in Ontario; whether the defendant is resident in Ontario; or where the … Read More