SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA
Citation: Dennis v. Langille, 2013 NSSC 42
Date: 20130204
Docket: Tru No. 389821
Registry: Truro
Between:
Clarence Dennis
Appellant
v.
Rickey E. Langille
Respondent
LIBRARY HEADING
Judge: The Honourable Justice John D. Murphy
Heard: October 3, 2012, in Truro, Nova Scotia
Subject: Small Claims Court Appeal
Summary: The vendor sold property on Cobequid Bay without disclosing that it was susceptible to erosion. The Adjudicator ordered the vendor to reimburse the purchaser for the costs of a rock barrier. The vendor appealed.
Issues: 1. Should the appeal be set aside for failure to serve the Respondent within 30 days?
2. Did the Adjudicator err by permitting submissions on latent defects when that issue was not pled?
3. Did the Adjudicator err by finding shoreline erosion on the Cobequid Bay to be a latent defect of the property?
Result: Appeal allowed. The delay in service was inconsequential. Although the Adjudicator was correct to receive submissions on latent defects, he erred in law by deciding that the property=s susceptibility to erosion was a latent defect.
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