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John Adair and Ritika Rai, acting for the plaintiff, successfully brought a motion for summary judgment and secured rescission of an agreement of purchase and sale of an $8.45M residential property on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentation and failure to disclose a latent defect at the time of sale. John and Ritika then successfully defended the summary judgment on appeal. 

This case is the first time an agreement of purchase and sale has been successfully rescinded in Canada due to the presence of an undisclosed safety risk constituting a hidden defect, and where the seller has failed to disclose that risk constituting a fraudulent misrepresentation. The impact is significant on all parties involved in real estate transactions and imposes a caveat to the maxim, buyer beware. Where sellers are aware of an existing safety risk and do not disclose this at the time of sale, the transaction can be unwound. Going forward, sellers and realtors ought to regulate their behaviour and cannot fail to disclose known safety risks to future buyers of property.