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Civil Litigation Dicta - Interest. 1417217 Ontario Inc. v. River Trail Estates Inc.
In 1417217 Ontario Inc. v. River Trail Estates Inc. (Ont CA, 2024) the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from a ruling involving oral real estate joint venture and several related issues.
The court finds that the ordering of pre-judgment interest was premature, here where the results of an accounting had yet to be completed:[56] The trial judge further erred in ordering that pre-judgment interest at the rate of 8% be paid on the Net Sale Proceeds. There was no proven contractual basis for a given rate of interest and no specific evidence that interest would be calculated in that manner[4]. Moreover, whether pre-judgment interest should be ordered – and, if so, at what rate – cannot fairly be decided until after the accounting is completed. As s. 130(2)(e) of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. 42 stipulates, in deciding those matters, the court “shall” take into account, “the amount claimed and the amount recovered in the proceeding”. The latter cannot be known until the accounting is completed. Accordingly, in my view, the Associate Judge who conducts the accounting should determine whether pre-judgment interest should be payable and, if so, at what rate.
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