ABQB Uses MGA Defences To Dismiss Appeal

In Kowalchuk v. Blanchard, et al., (unreported), the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently applied the statutory defences under the Municipal Government Act to summarily dismiss the appeal of an unsuccessful amendment application.

In Kowalchuk, the plaintiff bought a house from the defendant sellers in 2012.  Prior to closing, the plaintiff arranged for three independent inspections of the property.  Those inspections revealed several deficiencies in the property.  Nonetheless, the plaintiff closed the deal and moved in.  For two years, the plaintiff noticed further deficiencies and kept a log book.  The plaintiff then issued a claim against the sellers in 2014.  Two years later, the plaintiff sought to add the realtors and the municipality as defendants to the action by way of an amendment application. While the evidentiary threshold for such an application is low, a Master dismissed the application stating the amendments were hopeless and outside the prescribed