Tribunal Should Have Considered Lesser Penalties For Mortgage Broker

Originally published in Real Estate Magazine by litigator  Matt Maurer.

The Ontario Divisional Court has overturned a decision of the Financial Services Tribunal in which the tribunal revoked a mortgage broker's license because the tribunal failed to give sufficient consideration to lesser penalties before revoking the license.

On two separate occasions the broker registered a mortgage against the matrimonial home of a client and his wife, at the request of the client. The client also happened to be a registered mortgage broker.

The broker did not speak to the wife, nor did he witness her signature on the mortgage documents. Instead, he simply trusted his client that she had in fact signed the mortgage documents. As it turned out the signatures were forgeries.