PDF version: There is Rarely Compensation for the Wrongful Filing of Caveats
Case considered: Singh v. 862500 Alberta Ltd., 2010 ABCA 117
This case may be of interest to some because judgments considering claims for compensation for wrongly filed or maintained caveats under section 144 of the Land Titles Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. L-4, are not common in Alberta – only a handful seem to have been reported over the years. This case would have been more interesting had the claim succeeded, as successful lawsuits for compensation for wrongly filed or maintained caveats appear to be even rarer. The reason for the rarity of success appears to be the test for compensation in the Land Titles Act and the courts’ interpretation of that test. Section 144 requires that, in order for compensation to be awarded for the wrongful filing or maintaining of a caveat, the caveat must be filed or continued “without reasonable cause.” In Singh v. 862500 Alberta Ltd., the Court of Appeal determined that, because the appellant’s position regarding the interpretation of his purchase agreement was not “entirely unreasonable,” no compensation should be awarded for what did turn out to be a wrongful filing of a caveat. Granted, the test in section 144 is not whether the caveat is upheld but whether the caveator had reasonable cause to file a caveat. Nevertheless, in Singh v. 862500 Alberta Ltd., the bar seems to be set quite low, with “no reasonable cause” being equated to “not entirely unreasonable.”