Case information

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Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Torts – Negligence – Duty of Care – Purchase and Sale of real property – Home vendor’s liability in negligence for statements in Seller Property Information Sheet – Duty of real estate agent representing both seller and buyer – Reasonableness of buyer’s reliance on vendor’s statements – Whether private insurance exception applies to title insurance – When expert evidence is needed in professional negligence case – Whether Court of Appeal substituted factual conclusions in absence of palpable and overriding error – Vendor’s duty of disclosure to real estate agent – Whether Court of Appeal has imposed on real estate agents an absolute duty to discover latent defects in a property for sale.

The applicants retained the respondent Wendy Weddell as their real estate agent in a sale of their home. Ms. Weddell assisted the applicants in completing a Seller Property Information Sheet disclosing information about the property to prospective buyers. Ms. Weddell also represented Ms. Krawchuk in her purchase of the applicants’ home. While inspecting the home, Ms. Krawchuk noted structural defects and Ms. Weddell told her, based on information in the SPIS, that the house had settled and been repaired and that there had been no further problems. Ms. Krawchuk made an offer to purchase without any conditions. After purchasing the home, Ms. Krawchuk discovered that part of the foundation was sinking. She spent $191,414.94 repairing the home and recovered $105,742 under a title insurance policy. She sued the applicants for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation. She sued Ms. Weddell and her broker for negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation. The defendants cross-claimed against one another for contribution and indemnity.