Real estate

We collaborate with clients at all stages of a transaction in the commercial real estate sector – our lawyers are with you every step of the way.

No matter what challenges you are facing in the commercial real estate market, our team can give you creative, straight-forward advice to meet your needs.

Our lawyers work with clients involved in all areas of commercial real estate. We can help you with all of your commercial real estate matters, including conveyancing, co-ownership arrangements, development, financing and leasing.

The advantages of a cross-disciplinary team

Benefit from our experience and breadth of knowledge. Our team can draw upon the expertise of other lawyers in the firm including:

Construction
Employment and labour
Environmental and indigenous
Infrastructure and project development
Litigation and dispute resolution
Mergers and acquisitions
Regulatory
Restructuring and insolvency
Securities
Tax

What our clients say

"Very proactive and strategic thinkers. Creative considerations constantly being considered and presented to the client in a logical and straightforward manner." – Legal 500 Canada 2022

Practice areas

Representative work

Successful application to discharge a caveat and Certificate of Lis Pendens

Counsel to a real estate developer in a successful application to discharge a caveat and Certificate of Lis Pendens from title to its lands, which were holding up a construction project.(1704455 Alberta Ltd v. Sage Property Development Inc., 2020 ABQB 776).

Successful land titles dispute against the City of Calgary

Counsel for a homeowner who was sued by the City of Calgary, which claimed ownership of a portion of her front yard under a decades-old road plan that had inadvertently not been registered at Land Titles. The Court held that the road plan could not defeat or supersede the innocent homeowner's indefeasible title to her property. The Court also awarded the homeowner full indemnity for her legal costs. (Calgary (City) v. Teulon, 2021 ABQB 388, 2021 ABQB 501)

Represented a roofing company seeking $6.5M from fire damages

Lead counsel to a roofing company defending a $6.5M claim for alleged damages resulting from a fire that occurred while a commercial building in downtown Calgary was under construction. We successfully opposed an application brought by an insurance company to have two Actions related to the losses tried at the same time and to have the implied undertaking lifted. (Center Street Limited Partnership v Lloyd’s Underwriters, 2017 ABQB 295).

Successful defense of allegations of land titles fraud

Counsel to a Calgary real estate corporation in the successful defense of allegations of land titles fraud and a demand for specific performance by the Strategic Group and Riaz Mamdani. (Strategic Acquisition Corp. v. Multus Investment Corp., 2016 ABQB 681 and Strategic Acquisition Corp. v. Multus Investment Corp., 2017 ABCA 250).

VolkerWessels Canada Ltd. acquisition of a private construction and highway maintenance company

Counsel to VolkerWessels Canada Ltd. (Volker Stevin) in connection with its acquisition of a private construction and highway maintenance company, Lakes District Maintenance Ltd.

Heritage Capital Corporation's successful appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada

Successful leave applications and appeal to Supreme Court of Canada concerning the proper interpretation of the right to payments arising under an Incentive Agreement registered by caveat on title to land for a designated heritage building and the proper statutory interpretation as to priority of interest governed by the Personal Property Security Act, R.S.A. 2000 c. P-7. (Heritage Capital Corp. v. Equitable Trust Co., 2016 SCC 19).

Real estate developer's successful interim attachment order

Counsel to a real estate developer in actions against a group of U.K. purchasers who had defaulted under agreements to buy condominium units. The matter went to trial and included a successful interim attachment order preventing the defendants from transferring or disposing of their Alberta assets prior to trial. (Qualex-Landmark Investments Inc. v. Soroya 2011 ABQB 354 and Qualex-Landmark Investments Inc. v. Soroya 2009 ABQB 689).

Successful securities class action settlement

Counsel for plaintiff class in successful application for Court approval of a partial settlement of national securities class action relating to a real estate project (Harnam v. Chandran, 2018)

Successful settlement in a $10 million securities class action

Counsel to class plaintiffs in a $10 million real-estate based securities class action (successfully settled).

Merger and disposition for a private equity investor in the Netherlands

Counsel to a Netherlands based private equity investor on its acquisition, and ultimate disposition, of a real property development in Alberta.

Purchase agreement dispute

Counsel to a developer in a successful appeal of a Judge's decision declaring a purchase agreement null and void where the developer had failed to register a Condominium Plan by a specified date. (Swan Group Inc. v. Bishop, 2013 ABCA 29).

Successful action against a condo developer

Counsel for a condominium purchaser in a successful application to rescind the purchase agreement due to the developer's failure to provide or meet a fixed or ascertainable occupancy date. The Court ordered the return of the purchaser's deposits, and held the director of the development corporation personally liable for breaching the trust provisions of the Condominium Property Act. (Avli BCR Developments Inc. v. Ulsifer, 2022 ABQB 81.)

$60 million summary judgment defense

Counsel to a condominium corporation in the successful defense of summary judgment applications in a $60 million action related to allegations of severe building deficiencies, all of which were upheld by the Court of Appeal. (Condominium Corp. No. 0321365 v. Cuthbert 2016 ABCA 46; Condominium Corp. No. 0321365 v. 970365 Alberta Ltd. 2012 ABCA 26; Condominium Corp. No. 0321365 v. Marshall 2009 ABCA 292).

Advising on a royalty dispute

Lead counsel to a commercial landlord in a dispute involving the royalty payable on the tenant's gross income and misreporting thereof.

Sale of shares in an engineering and consulting business

Counsel to the founding shareholders of a privately held Calgary based engineering and consulting services corporation in connection with the divestiture of all of their shares to a national project management and engineering services company.

Divestiture of interests in land development entities

Counsel to a Calgary based construction company in connection with its divestiture of its interest in a residential land development group of entities.

Private company's sale of industrial properties to Nexus REIT

Counsel to a private company in its $31 million sale of four industrial properties located in Western Canada to Nexus REIT in consideration of cash and units of a subsidiary limited partnership that are exchangeable for units of Nexus REIT.