Part 14 published on 01/05/06
Class Action by Condo Corporation
According to Section 25(3) of the Condominium Property Act, a condominium corporation has authority to sue for and in respect of any damage or injury to the common property. However, there is uncertainty in the law as to the extent of the corporation’s rights to sue in relation to the common property. In particular, the courts have said that a condominium corporation cannot pursue claims for misrepresentation in respect of the common property, because such claims are considered “individual” as opposed to “corporate”.
In this case, the condominium corporation wished to assert both “corporate” and “individual” claims and accordingly sought certification to advance the “individual” claims in a class action (the class consisting of all persons who purchased a unit in the condominium from the developer). The Court granted the class action certification. The Court said that it was most efficient, and not unfair, to deal with all of the claims in a single action. Furthermore, the fact that the condominium corporation was not a member of the class was not fatal to the application. The condominium corporation met the requirements of Section 2 (4) of the Class Proceedings Act in that regard.