Soroka v. Skjoth et al., (1997) 207 A.R. 1 (QBM)

• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: June 25, 1997
• Citations: (1997), 207 A.R. 1 (QBM)

Soroka v. Skjoth (1997), 207 A.R. 1 (QBM)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [1997] A.R. TBEd. JL.011

Patrick Soroka and Gerald Soroka (plaintiff) v. Kenneth Skjoth and Danny Skjoth (defendants) and Kevin Volk (third party)

(Action No. 9503-03191)

Indexed As: Soroka v. Skjoth et al.

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Edmonton

Funduk, Master in Chambers

June 25, 1997.

Summary:

The defendants owned certain farmland which they leased to the plaintiffs for the years 1994 to 2000. The plaintiffs did not register a caveat, nor did they get a lease­hold title (Land Titles Act, ss. 35(1) and 130). Thereafter, a third party offered to the pur­chase the farmland. The third party knew of the existing lease, however, his offer was conditional on the fact that there were no leases on the land. The defendants accepted the offer and sold the land. The plaintiffs sued the defendants for damages, claiming that they terminated the lease. Thereafter, the plaintiffs sought to amend their statement of claim to add the third party as a co-defen­dant and to make additional allegations against the existing defendants.

A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application respecting the third party, but allowed the application against the existing defendants.

Contracts - Topic 1201

Formation of contract - Offer - General - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the "standard expression in law is that the offeror is the sole judge of what he will offer. The offeree or others cannot say that the offeror should not have offered what he did offer or that the offeror made a mis­take in what he offered" - See paragraph 30.

Practice - Topic 4496

Discovery - Use of examination in court - Use of discovery evidence of one defen­dant against another defendant, plaintiff or third party - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench discussed the scope of rule 214(1) of the Alberta Rules of Court and stated that it limited "the use of exam­ination evidence of an opposite party to being used in evidence against that oppo­site party . So without more, the examin­ation of the defendants can be used in evidence only as against them. It cannot be used in evidence against the plaintiffs and it cannot be used in evidence against the third party" - See paragraphs 19 to 27.

Real Property - Topic 7823

Title - Registration of instruments - Re­quirement of registration - Effect of fail­ure to register - [See both Real Property - Topic 8006 ].

Real Property - Topic 7828

Title - Registration of instruments - Re­quirement of registration - Registration of a lease - [See both Real Property - Topic 8006 ].

Real Property - Topic 8006

Title - Registration of instruments - Land titles system - Unregistered encumbrances - Effect of notice of - The defendants owned certain farmland which they leased to the plaintiffs - The plaintiffs did not register a caveat, nor did they get a lease­hold title (Land Titles Act, ss. 35(1) and 130) - A third party offered to pur­chase the farmland - The third party knew of the existing lease, however, his offer was conditional on the fact that there were no leases on the land - The defendants accepted the offer and sold the land - The plaintiffs sued the defendants for damages, claiming that they terminated the lease - Thereafter, the plaintiffs sought, inter alia, to add the third party as a co-defendant - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application stating that the Land Titles Act, s. 195, allowed the third party to purchase the land free of the lease, even though he had knowledge of it, because the plaintiffs had not regis­tered their interest.

Real Property - Topic 8006

Title - Registration of instruments - Land titles system - Unregistered encumbrances - Effect of notice of - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench reviewed s. 195 of the Land Titles Act which stipu­lated, inter alia, that "[a] person contract­ing or dealing with or taking or proposing to take a transfer, mortgage, incumbrance, lease or other interest from an owner is not, except in the case of fraud ... affected by any notice, direct, implied or construc­tive, of any trust or other interest in the land that is not registered by instrument or caveat, ..." - The Master concluded that pursuant to this section and absent fraud, an unregistered interest holder had no cause of action for inducing breach of contract against a purchaser of the land who took title free of the unregistered interest, even if the purchaser had notice of the unregistered interest - See paragraphs 34 to 79.

Torts - Topic 5208

Interference with economic relations - Contracts - Inducing or procuring breach of contract - [See both Real Property - Topic 8006 ].

Torts - Topic 5208

Interference with economic relations - Contracts - Inducing or procuring breach of contract - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench reviewed the law relat­ing to the tort of inducing breach of con­tract - See paragraphs 38 to 79.

Torts - Topic 5215

Interference with economic relations - Contracts - Defences - Justification - A Master of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench reviewed the law relating to jus­tification as it related to the tort of in­ducing breach of contract - See paragraphs 78 to 79.

Cases Noticed:

Hayhurst v. Innisfail Motors Ltd., [1935] 2 D.L.R. 272 (Alta. C.A.), refd to. [para. 20].

Raats v. French et al. (1991), 120 A.R. 122; 8 W.A.C. 122 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 22].

Imperial Oil Ltd. v. Whissell Enterprises Ltd. (1985), 62 A.R. 321 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 29].

Marwood Cedar Homes Ltd. v. Hanson Food Processing Ltd. (1988), 86 A.R. 207 (Q.B. Master), refd to. [para. 29].

Sullivan v. Newsome (1987), 78 A.R. 297 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 29].

Canadiana Gifts Ltd. v. Friedman et al. (1981), 32 A.R. 354; 15 Alta. L.R.(2d) 237 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 29].

Bower v. Schneider (J.M.) Inc. (1986), 9 B.C.L.R.(2d) 145 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 29].

Société Générale (Canada) et al. v. Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. (1995), 169 A.R. 317; 97 W.A.C. 317; 31 Alta. L.R.(3d) 137 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 29].

32262 B.C. Ltd. v. 411676 Alberta Ltd. et al. (1995), 170 A.R. 67; 29 Alta. L.R.(3d) 415 (Q.B. Master), refd to. [para. 30].

Holt, Renfrew & Co. v. Henry Singer Ltd. et al. (1982), 37 A.R. 90; 20 Alta. L.R.(2d) 97 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 32].

Miller (Ed) Sales & Rentals Ltd. v. Cater­pillar Tractor Co. et al. (1994), 151 A.R. 1; 17 Alta. L.R.(3d) 251 (Q.B.), revd. (1996), 187 A.R. 81; 127 W.A.C. 81; 41 Alta. L.R.(3d) 217 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 38].

Gumley v. Gye, 118 E.R. 749, refd to. [para. 40].

Quinn v. Leathem, [1901] A.C. 495 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 44].

British Motor Trade Association v. Salva­dori, [1949] 1 Ch. 556, refd to. [para. 45].

Thomson (D.C.) & Co. v. Deakin, [1952] 1 Ch. 646 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 46].

Posluns v. Toronto Stock Exchange (1964), 46 D.L.R.(2d) 210 (Ont. H.C.), refd to. [para. 47].

Posluns v. Toronto Stock Exchange (1965), 53 D.L.R.(2d) 193 (Ont. C.A.), affd. (1968), 67 D.L.R.(2d) 165 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 50].

Sefton v. Tophams Ltd. (No. 2), [1964] 1 W.L.R. 1408 (Ch.), refd to. [para. 51].

Midland Bank Trust Co. v. Green, [1980] 1 Ch. D. 590 (H.L.), consd. [para. 52].

Midland Bank Trust Co. v. Green, [1981] A.C. 513 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 62].

Midland Bank Trust Co. v. Green, [1982] 1 Ch. 529 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 67].

De Mattos v. Gibson (1858), 45 E.R. 108, refd to. [para. 69].

Swiss Bank Corp. v. Lloyd's Bank, [1979] 3 W.L.R. 201 (Ch.), refd to. [para. 71].

Pritchard v. Briggs, [1980] 1 All E.R. 294 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 77].

Ellis v. Pelton, [1933] O.W.N. 191 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 83].

Carmacks Construction Ltd. v. Beaumont (Village) and Pentagon Industries Ltd. (1981), 30 A.R. 328 (Q.B. Master), refd to. [para. 83].

Rago Millwork & Supplies Co. v. Wood­house (D.) Construction Ltd. (1981), 28 A.R. 499 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 83].

Statutes Noticed:

Rules of Court (Alta.), rule 214(1) [para. 19].

Land Titles Act, S.A. 1980, sect. 195 [para. 34].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Cohen-Grabelsky, Nili, Interfer­ence with Contractual Relations and Equitable Doctrines (1982), 45 M.L.R. 240, pp. 260 to 262 [para. 72].

Fleming, John G., The Law of Torts (8th Ed. 1992), pp. 261 [para. 47]; 691 [para. 42].

Harvard Law Review, Tortious Interfer­ence with Contractual Relations in the Nineteen Century: The Transformation of Property, Contract and Tort, 93 Harvard L. Rev. 1510, generally [para. 39].

Jones, Gareth H., Per Quod Servitium Amisit, 74 L.Q.R. 39, generally [para. 39].

Klar, Tort Law, p. 438 [para. 43].

Winfield and Jolowicz, Tort (13th Ed.), pp. 499, 500 [para. 41]; 507, 508 [para. 76]; footnote 22, p. 508 [para. 76].

Counsel:

B.M. Geiger, for the plaintiffs;

N.J. Pollock, Q.C., (Lucas, Bowker & White), for the third party.

This application was heard in Chambers, before Master Funduk, of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Edmonton, who delivered the following decision on June 25, 1997.