Toronto · Huntsville · Bowmanville
Toronto · Huntsville · Bowmanville
Practice Areas · Municipal Litigation
The Practice
Excellence matters. David Morin, Managing Partner
The problem usually arrives without warning: a work order from the municipality, a structural defect found during a renovation, or a letter from a title insurer denying a claim. Suddenly a property you trusted has become a liability, and the question is who is responsible and whether the loss can be recovered.
This group is led by Managing Partner David Morin, with partner Peter Reinitzer. David has built a litigation practice around municipal liability and has written extensively on title insurance claims, and he has sat as a Deputy Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario since 2003. David and Peter acted together for the property owners in two leading Court of Appeal building-inspection cases, Breen v Lake of Bays (Township) and Tokarz v Selwyn (Township).
We act for property owners and buyers, and for the real estate lawyers who refer these matters to us. The work is rooted in Muskoka, where building and property disputes are a daily reality, and we take it on for owners across Ontario.
What This Group Does
Our municipal work centres on three related situations, each of which can leave an owner facing a substantial and unexpected cost.
Claims against municipalities whose inspectors approved construction that did not meet the Building Code, where that failure later causes loss.
Helping owners faced with orders to comply, unpermitted work, and Code deficiencies discovered after a purchase or during a renovation.
Representing insureds against title insurers, including denied claims and disputes over building, permit and police powers exclusions.
Municipal Liability
The Building Code Act, 1992 makes municipalities responsible for inspecting construction against the Ontario Building Code. When a municipal inspector approves work that does not meet the Code, and an owner is later harmed by that failure, the municipality can be liable in negligence. The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in Ingles v Tutkaluk Construction Ltd, 2000 SCC 12, that a municipality owes a duty of care to those who may be injured by the negligent exercise of its inspection powers.
The Court of Appeal applied that principle in Breen v Lake of Bays (Township), 2022 ONCA 626, holding that once a building permit is granted, the municipality has an obligation to inspect for Code compliance, even where the owner did not request a final inspection. David Morin and Peter Reinitzer acted for the property owners, whose recovery the Court of Appeal upheld. They also acted for the owners in Tokarz v Selwyn (Township), 2022 ONCA 246, a further building-inspection case at the Court of Appeal.
Whether an inspection fell below the standard, and what the Code required, are established through technical and expert evidence, and every case turns on its own facts. These defects are often hidden, surfacing only years later on a renovation or sale, so the timing of a claim and the limitation period need early attention.
Building Code
A building code problem often announces itself as a municipal order: an order to comply, a work order, or a notice that work was done without a permit. These can stall a sale, force costly remediation, and raise hard questions about who is responsible, whether that is the municipality, a previous owner, a builder, or a professional involved in the purchase.
We help owners faced with these orders understand their position and pursue the responsible party. Depending on the facts, that can mean a claim against a municipality for negligent inspection, a claim against a vendor or a builder, or a claim under a title insurance policy. We assemble the engineering and technical evidence these disputes require, and we keep the limitation period in view from the start, because the loss is often discovered long after the work was done.
Title Insurance
Title insurance is meant to protect an owner against certain defects in title and related losses, and it frequently comes into play exactly when a building or permit problem surfaces, for example an unregistered work order or construction carried out without the proper permits. In practice, whether the policy responds turns on its specific wording and on a set of exclusions that insurers apply firmly.
David Morin has written extensively on these claims and the exclusions that decide them, including the police powers exclusion and the suffered, created or assumed and the known to the insured exclusions, and on how policy wording differs from one insurer to the next. We act for insureds in title insurance claims, including denied claims, and for any significant claim we do not recommend that an owner deal with the title insurer alone.
Coverage is a matter of the policy and the facts. We give an honest assessment of whether a claim is likely to respond before it is advanced.
From Problem to Recovery
Every matter is different, but a property claim tends to move through the same stages. The early steps decide how strong the case will be.
The order, the defect or the denial, and the documents behind it: the permit file, the inspection records and the policy.
We identify who may be liable and whether a title policy responds, and give you a candid view of the claim before any cost is committed.
Building inspection and code cases turn on engineering and expert evidence, which we assemble early and build the case around.
Against the municipality, a vendor or builder, or the title insurer, and always mindful of the limitation period.
Most claims resolve, but we are trial counsel and prepared to prove the case in court when a fair resolution is not available.
The firm runs its appeals in-house, as our Court of Appeal results in this area reflect.
Engagement
An assessment of the claim and the key documents is the right first step. From there we discuss the approach and a fee arrangement suited to the matter. These cases reward early, careful work, so the sooner we see the permit file, the inspection records or the policy, the better.
Based in Huntsville, in the heart of cottage country, we act for property owners across Ontario.
The Group
Two Muskoka-based litigators who have taken building-inspection cases to the Court of Appeal for property owners, and who know this area from the ground up.
Excellence matters.
David is the firm's Managing Partner, and his litigation practice includes municipal liability, professional negligence, product liability and personal injury. He acted for the successful property owners in the Court of Appeal building-inspection cases Breen v Lake of Bays (Township) and Tokarz v Selwyn (Township), and has written extensively on title insurance claims. He has served as a Deputy Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario since 2003 and is a past president of the Muskoka Law Association.
Full profileAnalytical. Creative. Fearless.
Peter built his practice at the firm with a focus on property loss and commercial and insurance litigation, and acted alongside David Morin for the property owners in Breen v Lake of Bays and Tokarz v Selwyn. He appears regularly at the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, and brings a background that includes in-house work for a property developer. He is the president of the Muskoka Law Association and was called to the Ontario bar in 2015.
Full profileRecognition
Questions Property Owners Ask
You may. Depending on the facts, there can be a claim against the municipality for a negligent inspection, against a vendor or builder, or under a title insurance policy. It turns on the permit and inspection history and the documents, which is why the first step is an assessment of the file.
In the right circumstances, yes. A municipality that inspects construction owes a duty of care and can be liable where a negligent inspection causes loss, as the Court of Appeal confirmed in Breen v Lake of Bays. Liability turns on the facts and on expert evidence about what the Code required.
Not necessarily. The limitation period generally runs from when the problem was, or reasonably should have been, discovered, rather than from when the work was done. In these cases that is often a later renovation or sale. It is fact-specific, so it is best to ask early.
A denial is not the end of the matter. Title policies contain exclusions that insurers apply firmly, but whether an exclusion actually applies depends on the wording of the policy and the facts. We act for insureds in denied and disputed title insurance claims.
For a significant claim, we do not recommend it. The title insurer, and the lawyers who sell its policies, have their own interests. Experienced claimant-side counsel levels the field.
Our insurance group acts for insurers in defence and coverage matters. This group acts for property owners, including against title insurers. They are separate practices on opposite sides of the table.
No. We are based in Huntsville, but we act for property owners across Ontario.
Yes. The firm runs its appeals in-house, and has acted at the Court of Appeal in this exact area.
Speak With Our Team
If a faulty inspection, a building code defect, or a denied title insurance claim has left you with a problem that is not your fault, contact Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP. We will look at the documents and give you a straight view of where you stand.
Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP · 322 Muskoka Road 3 North, Huntsville · dcmlaw.ca
