Tried to Negotiate the Deal after the Contract was Unconditional

Pollard v. Perry

Ms. Perry submitted an Offer on10 Golfview Drive, Collingwood, Ontario. The listing price was $995,000. The sale price agreed to was $1,050,000.00. The agreement was unconditional.

Actually, the deposit was missing. It was never paid. That meant that the Buyer was immediately in breach of contract.

Ms. Perry thought that she paid too much so she didn’t deliver her deposit in the amount of $50,000.00. She wanted to continue to negotiate and have the Seller reduce the price by $100,000.00. You have to admit that’s a rather cavalier and unusual approach to doing business.

Property                                   10 Golfview Dr. Collingwood

List Price                                  $995.000.00

Price                                        $1,050,000.00

Deposit                                    $50,000.00.

APS date                                  21 June 2021

Closing Date                            17 September 2021

Breach of Contract Date           22 June 2021

Relist Price                               $1,100,000.00

Reduced Listing Price               $995,000.00

Second Sale Price                     $910,000.00

Judgment                                 $140,866.11 plus prejudgment and post judgment

Costs                                        $20,000.00

Court Date                               6 September 2021

Decision Date                           14 September 2021

Duration of Court Time           2 hours

COMMENT

This case was Pollard v. Perry and was heard by way of a motion for Judgment not a Trial.

So, Pollard needs to sell the property to someone else and have that deal close. That’s when he will know what his loss amounts to. Then, it will be necessary to sue. An Affidavit of Documents needs to be prepared by each party. Then there is an opportunity for the lawyers to examine the other party under oath. So, that’s a full day, one party in the morning, and the other party in the afternoon. Then, the motion is scheduled.

In this case, it was heard about one after the original closing date.

The Seller had the lotto ticket in hand and now is entitled to over $160,000.00 plus interest. The motion in Court would take about two hours.

In many situations, people will simply say “give up” and “it’s not worth suing”, and “you will be tied up in Court for years” and “it will cost a fortune”.

None of these “people” are litigation lawyers. Consult one before giving up! And, if you are a real estate agent “don’t give out crazy advice”!

Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker

www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com