Cousins v. McColl-Frontenac Inc., 2006 NBQB 255 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench (Trial Division).

Mr. Cousins purchased a property that had been previously been used as a service station. At the time of the purchase, Mr. Cousins understood that there could be some hydrocarbon contamination on the property, but he had the impression that he would still be able to use the property as he wished. Eventually, Mr. Cousins realized that the property could not be used commercially until extensive remediation was carried out, but the cost of remediation would exceed the value of the property. He sued the vendors, McColl-Frontenac Inc., who had sold the property to him “as is.” Mr. Cousins asked that the sale be rescinded, so that both parties would return to the positions they were in before the purchase was made. He also claimed damages for two additional properties that he purchased after the initial sale, both of which were also found to be contaminated.

Because the property had been sold “as is,” and because there was no evidence of fraud or misrepresentation, the Court held there were no grounds for rescinding the initial sale. It dismissed Mr. Cousin’s claim on that count, and asked the parties to submit additional materials related to Mr. Cousin’s additional claims for damages.

To read later decisions related to this case, go to Cousins v. McColl-Frontenac Inc., 2006 NBQB 406 (CanLII), Cousins v. McColl-Frontenac Inc., 2007 NBCA 83 (CanLII), and Edward C. Cousins v. McColl-Frontenac Inc., 2008 CanLII 18967 (SCC).

View the Decision on CanLII: www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbqb/doc/2006/2006nbqb255/2006nbqb255.html

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