Can I make a claim against a seller who has moved to another province?

A seller who relocates after closing is still answerable for whatever the sale agreement and the law make them answerable for. The move changes where you may have to collect, not whether you have a claim. Two things need attention early: the time limit for starting a proceeding, and the process for enforcing a judgment in the seller’s new province. This page uses Ontario and British Columbia as worked examples.

The time limit does not pause for the move

Ontario’s Limitations Act, 2002 says that, unless the Act provides otherwise, a proceeding shall not be commenced after the second anniversary of the day the claim was discovered (s. 4). Section 15(2) adds an outer limit of the 15th anniversary of the act or omission the claim is based on, and that section has its own exceptions. The Act also treats the limitations law of Ontario or any other jurisdiction as substantive law for conflict-of-laws purposes (s. 23), so which province’s rules govern a claim can matter. British Columbia has its own Limitation Act, so a lawyer should confirm which applies to your deal.

Getting a judgment recognized in the new province

Winning where you sued is one step; collecting from assets in another province is another. Ontario’s Small Claims Court guide says an order from another province or territory, other than Quebec, may be filed under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, and that you must get the court’s permission first. Under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, where a judgment was given in a court in a reciprocating state, the creditor may apply within six years after the date of the judgment to have it registered (s. 2(1)). Section 3 lists cases in which registration shall not be ordered, such as a judgment obtained by fraud or one under a pending appeal. Section 8 also leaves the creditor free to sue on the judgment instead.

British Columbia runs a different statute, which registers a Canadian judgment when the creditor pays the prescribed fee and files a certified copy of the judgment in the Supreme Court registry (s. 3(1)). Under the Enforcement of Canadian Judgments and Decrees Act, a money judgment must not be registered or enforced after the time for enforcement has expired where it was made, or later than 10 years after the date it became enforceable there (s. 5(1)). On an application for directions, the Supreme Court may stay or limit enforcement of a registered judgment in the circumstances the Act lists (s. 6).

What to check before you sue

• Read the sale agreement for a governing-law clause and any clause that picks the court or an arbitrator.
• Confirm the seller’s current address, because you will need it to serve the claim.
• Ask whether money is still held back under an escrow or holdback, and what the escrow terms say about making a claim against those funds.
• Diarize the earliest limitation date and get legal advice well before it.