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ARTICLE · 06 MAY 2014

Summary Judgment: The New Tool In Franchise Litigation?

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The franchisor of Caffé Demetre restaurants has won its motion for summary judgment against a former franchisee.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Geoffrey Shaw
Geoffrey Shaw
Carly Cohen
Carly Cohen
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On the coattails of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Hryniak permitting the broader use of summary judgment motions, the franchisor of Caffé Demetre restaurants has won its motion for summary judgment against a former franchisee. (A Cassels Brock summary of the Hryniak decision can be found here.)

In the judgment of Caffé Demetre Franchising Corp v 2249027 Ontario Inc, Justice T.A. Heeney of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the defendants' counterclaim seeking the statutory rescission of the franchise agreement. The Court ruled that the alleged deficiencies of the disclosure document did not amount to material facts that should have been included or were not so egregious as to amount to no disclosure at all.

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