Summary Judgment In Obsidian Contested Franchise Disclosure Case Denied

Summary judgment in Obsidian contested franchise disclosure case denied

The Supreme Court has recently denied leave to appeal from the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2212886 Ontario Inc. v. Obsidian Group Inc., 2018 ONCA 670 (leave denied 2019 CanLII 16540 (SCC) ) affirming the Court of Appeal's decision that summary judgment may not be appropriate in cases where the central and determinative issues turn on conflicting evidence and questions of credibility.

The case involved a claim by a franchisee and its principals that the franchisee was entitled to rescind its franchise agreement under Ontario's Arthur Wishart (Franchise Disclosure) Act, 2000 because the franchisor had failed to provide the required disclosure. In particular, the focus was on the requirement to disclose certain projections and underlying financial information.