Can a vendor's silence or misstatement to a purchaser of a latent defect amount to a misrepresentation?

Alberta, Canada


The following excerpt is from Gibb v. Sprague, 2008 ABQB 298 (CanLII):

In Temple v. Thomas, Sullivan J., in discussing the silence or misstatement by a vendor to a purchaser of a latent defect stated at para. 55: The Defendant's conduct in selling the property displayed a similar pattern of willful blindness to the condition of the property and his own responsibilities in the transaction. He advertised the property as 'newly renovated' and sold it using his agent in such a way that he never had contact with potential purchasers. The authorities above make it clear that silence or failure to disclose the existence of a latent defect can amount to a misrepresentation. Despite the absence of evidence that he intended to misrepresent the property, his failure to disclose the circumstances of the renovation and condition of the property take him outside of any protection offered by the principle of caveat emptor.

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