Whitelaw Twining’s Jordanna Cytrynbaum was featured on the Simi Sara Show to comment on the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Wang v. Shao, 2019 BCCA 130, regarding a woman who wanted to back out of buying a Shaughnessy mansion because she discovered a murder took place there.

A woman who wanted to back out of buying a Shaughnessy mansion because she discovered a murder took place there has had her appeal thrown out of court. Whitelaw Twining’s Jordanna Cytrynbaum, joined the Simi Sara show to discuss what happened in this case, and what this means to a seller regarding what they have to disclose when selling a property.

The case involved a contract of purchase and sale for a mansion in Shaughnessy for approximately $6 million. The primary issue on appeal was whether the trial judge erred in his determination that the seller had fraudulently misrepresented her reason for selling the property by failing to disclose that her son-in-law had been gunned down on the property some 2 years prior. The Court of Appeal disagreed and held that while a seller has an obligation to answer questions about a property truthfully, there is no positive obligation to volunteer everything that may be related to a general question. Ultimately, the Court reiterated that the purchaser has the onus of asking specific questions to determine whether the property will meet their needs.

To listen to Jordanna’s comments in the interview with Simi Sara, please click here.