Latent Defects | Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP

Navy Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP title card reading "Ottawa Floods and Construction Defects," with a photo of partner Peter Reinitzer.

After the Deluge: When Ottawa Basement Flooding Points to Construction Deficiencies

Peter Reinitzer July 14, 2026

The historic Canada Day 2026 storm left thousands of Ottawa homeowners tearing out drywall and replacing ruined furnaces. But an extraordinary weather event does not absolve builders and engineers of liability: where one home floods while its neighbours stay dry, the real cause may be a hidden construction defect, and that opens a very different path to recovery, if you act before the limitation clock runs out.

Navy Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP title card reading "Slatkovsky v Machado", with the line "A non-delegable permit duty and a dual agent's duty to disclose". Case comment, civil litigation, from dcmlaw.ca.

Unpermitted Renovations and Dual Agency: Key Takeaways from Slatkovsky v Machado

Peter Reinitzer June 19, 2026

A Puslinch century farmhouse looked beautifully renovated. The structural work had no building permit, and no one disclosed it. In Slatkovsky v Machado, the Ontario Superior Court held both the vendors and their double-ending agent liable, awarding the buyers $150,318 and confirming that the owner’s permit duty cannot be passed off to a contractor.

Latent Defects and Vendor Liability: Lessons from Austin v. MacFarlane

Peter Reinitzer March 6, 2026

A purchaser must inspect, but a vendor cannot hide behind “buyer beware” after actively concealing what is wrong with a home. In Austin v MacFarlane, 2026 ONSC 463, a North Bay buyer discovered foundation cracks, hidden mould, and an improperly built deck days after closing, with repairs exceeding $119,000. The Ontario Superior Court explains where vendor silence ends and active concealment begins.