Condominium Law Practices Chit-Chat – Qtr4/20 | Condo Mania

Last Update: December 31, 2020

Condominium law firms move into talking about webinars, virtual meetings and Auditor General report on condo industry.

Welcome to the field of Ontario condominium real estate law practices in my condo home library, the Condorary.

Where can I find a condo lawyer?

Which law firms of lawyers shine brilliantly by open engagement in education of condominium property managers and unit owners through organizations such as the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario – ACMO, the Canadian Condominium Institute – CCI regional chapters in the province and the Canadian Associations Institute – CAI. Perhaps in other ways committed to assisting current and future clients in solving their problems?

Are there other legal stars in the provincial constellation? Just like a shooting star in the night sky, a few will wink in and out of here at hyper-warp speed while countless others remain pinpoints of faint light to find and trust by searching elsewhere. This quarter has added 2 law firms while 1 practice has disappeared from sight.

What information do condominium lawyers provide to the public?

The fourth quarter consists of 93 posts so far (written & recorded) by 10 law firms alphabetically listed below. Who else has an interest in registering for a live podcast or webinar to ask questions ; listen later for convenience? Visit the websites of the legal professionals who offer them for the date and time of their next scheduled event.

How To Use  Access to any law practice is formatted as follows: Click on the title of their lead article to arrive at the latest post in their blog or article collection. A click on the law firm name takes you to their website. Click on an editorial selected article of interest by author for the actual post.

Davidson Houle Allen LLP  – Ottawa

Auditor General’s Report on the Ontario Condominium Industry  The Auditor General’s overall criticism is that Ontario is failing to take adequate steps to protect condominium owners and boards. I summarize the criticisms as follows:

Source: James Davidson, © 2017 Davidson Houle Allen LLP 

Real estate law firm’s quarter post count – 23, podcast – 2 :

By DHA Team

Government announces province-wide shutdown and additional restrictions – December 21

25% reduction in CAO fees to continue into 2021-22 – December 15

Lawyers, guns and money – with DHA’s Jim Davidson – November 30

Holiday Q&A with DHA! – November 27

By Melissa Andrews, Associate

Virtual meeting deadline extended for condominiums! – October 02

By James Davidson, Partner

A look back at 2020 – December 31

Auditor General’s report on the Ontario condominium industry – December 10

How to list candidates in a Notice of Meeting – December 08

Condominium meetings during the pandemic – an update – November 20

Human Rights – sometimes more than one process – November 18

More about chargebacks – November 17

CAO publishes new Condo Guide – November 6

The theory of Reserve Fund planning – a primer – October 20

A little bit of guidance respecting minutes – October 15

An update respecting gymnasiums – October 13

Solicitor – Client privilege – another piece of the puzzle – October 08


 By Emily Deng, Associate

Return to a “Modified” Stage 2: What does this mean for condo AGMs? – October 09

By Mohiminol Khandaker, Articling Student

Join Melinda Andrews at Buildings Week! – December 01

Changes to the CAT’s jurisdiction now in effect – October 02

By Nicole Robinson, Articling Student

Tarion and the New Home Construction Regulatory Authority – December 31


By Cheryll Wood and Mohiminol Khandaker

Condos and Gyms… Where Are We Now: Province Introduces New COVID-19 Response Framework and Restrictions – November 4

By Cheryll Wood, Associate

Upcoming amendments to the Condominium Act – October 26

Podcast

The Davidson Houle Allen Video Library contains podcasts converted to videos.

Elia Associates Professional Corporation – Oakville, Barrie, Toronto, Ottawa 

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 33: Back to the Future – Ontario Returns to Province Lockdown Effective 12:01am Saturday, December 26th 2020, Ontario entered a province-wide lockdown to minimise the transmission of COVID-19 and to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. All Public Health Regions were moved into the “Grey Zone” of the five-zone system put in place by the Ontario Government.

Source: © Elia Associates Professional Corporation

Real estate lawyers quarter post count – 8, videos 2 :

By Elia Associates

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 33: Back to the future – Ontario returns to province lockdown – December 29

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 32: Ontario enforces tougher restrictions on regions – December 15

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 31: Should visitors be restricted? – December 01

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 30: Toronto and Peel region returning to lockdown – November 27

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 29: COVID-19 Restrictions in Ontario – November 23

COVID-19 Bulletin No. 28: Return to a “modified” Stage 2 – October 13

By Victor Yee

With all due respect to the Auditor General … Democracy is messy, managers should be paid more, levelling the playing field means awarding costs to either side, and the silent majority of condos are doing OK – December 10

New claws for the CAT: pets, vehicles, parking, and storage (a.k.a. why the CAT must award legal costs) – October 01

Webinar

For webinar enthusiasts, check out the Condowise series of videos.

Fogler, Rubinoff  LLP – Toronto

Condominium Law Update: New SCC Decision Confirms the Duty to Act Honestly in Contracts In C.M. Callow Inc. v Zollinger, 2020 SCC 45, a decision released on December 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that parties to a contract must act in good faith and have a duty to act honestly, even when exercising a right of termination in a contract. Misleading a party with whom a party is in a contract with, even if the party is abiding by the strict terms of the contract, can constitute dishonesty and will attract damages for the other party.

Source: © Emily Duncan and Rachel Fielding, Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

Real estate lawyers quarter post count – 1 :

By Emily Duncan and Rachel Fielding, Associates

Condominium law update: New SCC decision confirms the duty to act honestly in contracts – December 22

Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP – Toronto

No Oppression Claim Against Directors Personally Unless a Director Instigates the Conduct There are limited circumstances where directors of condominium corporations can be personally liable for oppressive conduct under Condominium Act, 1998. In a recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision, the declarant (also a unit owner at a vacant land condominium corporation) sued the condominium corporation and the individual directors. 

Source: An Nguyen, © 2020, Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP 

Condominium law firm’s quarter post count – 4 :

By Tony Bui, Associate

CAT issues first order under Rule 4.5 – Applicant must obtain permission before continuing any proceedings – December 21

By Andrea Lusk

Top 10 condo cases 0f 2020 – December 30

By An Nguyen, Associate

No oppression claim against directors personally unless a director instigates the conduct – December 01

By An Nguyen and Tony Bui, Associates

Electronic meeting recordings and best practices – November 12

By Alex Young, Associate

Key take-aways from the CAT record request decisions – Part 2 – December 15

Feature Newsletter – Condo Alert! Winter 2020 –  PDF

Feature Newsletter – Condo Alert! Autumn 2020 – PDF

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP – Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, Ottawa

Auditor General’s Scathing Report on the Condo Industry in Ontario As part of its annual report, the Auditor General of Ontario issued, yesterday, a scathing report on Ontario’s condo industry and specifically on the lack of industry oversight.  The “Value for Money Audit“ on the condo industry is nearly 80 pages long and is worth a careful read. In this blog we provide a summary of some of the findings and conclusions reached by the Auditor.

Source: Rodrigue Escayola, © 2020 Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 

Real estate lawyers quarter post count – 19, Videos -2 :

By Rodrigue Escayola, Partner

Provincewide COVID shutdown and impact on condos – December 21

A condo Christmas carol – December 16

Big changes to “slip and Fall” claims against condos – December 10

Auditor General’s scathing report on the condo industry in Ontario – December 08

Condo knowledge opportunities in December – November 30

What “lockdown” means for Peel and Toronto condos – November 23

Toronto & Peel condos moved to lockdown restrictions – November 20

Holiday webinar: a year in review and condo jeopardy competition! (Dec. 2 at 5pm) –
November 20

Confused by colour zones and restrictions? Try our COVID tool – November 17

Condo Gyms & Pools Under Ontario’s New COVID-19 Colour-Coded Restrictions – November 13

Condos under Ontario’s new colour-coded COVID framework – November 9

The battle of Otterlo – a remembrance post – October 31

Next Webinar: Excel at Virtual AGMs (and Covid Update) (Nov. 4 @ 5pm) – October 27

Possible protection for condos who make best efforts to follow COVID regulations – October 20

Condo pools (and libraries) under Ontario’s modified Stage 2 – October 15

Must condos close their gyms under Ontario’s modified Stage 2? – October 13

Ontario rolling back to Stage 2: closing gyms and conference centres – October 09

Province regulates face masks and meeting limits in condos – October 05


By Graeme Macpherson, Associate

Ontario extends the period allowing virtual AGMs, electronic notifications and remote board meetings – October 01

Video and Webinar

Visit the Gowling WLG Video Library of international content which also contains information about other aspects of law.

Horlick Levitt Di Lella LLP – North York 

COVID-19 & Residential Tenancy Law in Toronto COVID-19 has quickly circled the globe and is causing havoc across the planet. The flu spread through China, Europe and now has hit the United States. Here in Canada, the virus has started to spread in several provinces, and non-essential businesses have begun to shut their doors. Employment insurance applications are in the millions, and hundreds of thousands of Canadians are already facing down rent and bills they might not be able to pay.

Source: Horlick Levitt Di Lella LLP 

Condominium law firm’s quarter post count – 0, Video – 11 :

Video and Webinar

The HLD Lawyers Video Library contains case law videos and recorded webinars. Forget Netflix. Participants’ law questions are answered along with other insights.

Lash Condo Law – Toronto

Condo Lawsuits – New Protocols for Snow and Ice Injuries We previously blogged about insurance companies not wanting to provide coverage to snow and ice removal service providers. We noted that Bill 118 was trying to address some of the underlying concerns. Bill 118 received royal assent on December 8, 2020, but the changes are not exactly what those in the snow removal industry were hoping for. That said, Bill 118 does materially change how lawsuits arising out of snow and ice injuries can be brought.

Source: Joseph Salmon, © 2017 Lash Condo Law 

Condominium law firm’s quarter post count – 13 :

By Denise Lash

Virtual meetings in 2020 lessons learned – what’s new in 2021? – December 15

Adjourned condo meetings – December 01

Condo Webinars: the new normal/new legal issues – November 27

Virtual meetings – the recording – November 10

Condo Webinar – Preparing for the holidays – Covid -19 – October 30

Guide to electronic voting and virtual meetings – October 26

Chairing a condo virtual meeting – October 20

Second wave COVID-19 – condo corporation steps – October 04

 Virtual meetings and electronic voting – extended until May 31, 2021 – October 02


By Josh Milgrom

Happy holidays from Lash Condo Law – December 08

Toronto and Peel condos – close your gyms and other lockdown requirements – November 23

By Joseph Salmon

Condo lawsuits – new protocols for snow and ice injuries – December 28

Honesty is the best legal policy- condo court decision – December 22

Miller Thomson LLP  – London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto, Vaughan, Markham

Upcoming changes to the sale of pre-construction residential condominium units  After an expansive audit from the Attorney General of Ontario, the Government of Ontario and the Tarion Warranty Corporation (“Tarion”) have begun implementing a series of procedural and legislative changes, with a view to improving the quality of construction and the confidence of consumers that are buying a new home.

Source: Eric Laxton © Miller Thomson LLP  2020

By Eric Laxton, Associate

Upcoming changes to the sale of pre-construction residential condominium units – December 11

Robson Carpenter LLP – Ayr, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto 

The Curse of COVID: Recap of the Top 2020 Stories You might have noticed that Annie Bailey’s post (10 Condo Law Highlights of 2020) had a notable omission: COVID-19. Given the overwhelming number of legal changes, reported cases, and news about COVID-19 in condominiums, we decided to dedicate an entire year-in-review post to COVID-19 in 2020. Here is our list of the top ten legislative changes, reported cases, and resources that your condominium need to be aware of heading into 2021 while we continue to deal with COVID-19 and the pandemic.

Source: Michelle Kelly, © Robson Carpenter LLP

Real estate lawyers quarter post count – 08 :

By Annie Bailey, Associate

10 condo law highlights of 2020 – December 08

By Michelle Kelly, Associate

The curse of COVID: Recap of the top 2020 stories – December 17

COVID-19: Five new categories – November 30

Solicitor-Client privilege waived by discussing bills with owners – November 18

Upcoming amendments: January 1, 2021 – November 6

CCI Grand River chapter’s first virtual conference is coming up! – October 22

Virtual or In-Person meetings during a pandemic: which is best? – October 13

The Condo Authority Tribunal (CAT) hears new matters starting today? – October 01

Shibley Righton LLP – Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto

Questions Regarding New November 2020 Lockdowns in Toronto and Peel Region  With Toronto and Peel Region going into ‘lockdown’ for a 28 day period, we have begun to receive questions regarding the impacts of these new restrictions on condominium business.

Source: © Shibley Righton LLP

Real estate lawyers quarter post count – 8:

 By SR Team

Questions regarding new November 2020 lockdowns in Toronto and Peel region – November 24

Toronto and Peel enter lockdown – November 23

Condominium gyms to reopen – November 6

Province and Toronto disagree on condo gym opening – October 23

Recent court decision – October 23

Back to a modified Stage 2 – October 19

Ontario government announces new Covid restrictions – October 9

Breaking news – province extends virtual meetings deadline to May 31, 2021 – October 2

Helpful Links

  Condominium Law Practices Chit-Chat – Qtr3/20

  Condominium Real Estate Data – Qtr2/20

Condominium Real Estate Governance – Qtr3/20

Condominium Real Estate Life – Qtr3/20

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