Antoni Casalinuovo Elia Associates
CAT Abuse
Unrealistic Expectations Get You Nowhere Unfortunately, There are Some Litigants That Have Become All Too Familiar With the Condominium Authority Tribunal (The “CAT”), But for the Wrong Reasons
Ultimately, the CAT found Mr. Gale’s claims to be without merit. The CAT, correctly, found that the heart of Mr. Gale’s complaint was governance. Mr. Gale’s evidence and submissions extended well beyond the board’s minutes and were more akin to airing his political grievances about HCC 61’s decision-making, which is outside the CAT’s jurisdiction in a records case.
how the corporation’s affairs are controlled, managed, and administered,” and iii) perfection is not the standard to measure board meeting minutes.
The CAT made three key determinations: i) HCC 61 was not required to contain the “granular” level of detail Mr. Gale was seeking, ii) the purpose of board meeting minutes is to accurately “document a board’s business transactions and show
Once the CAT dismissed the Application for being meritless, it undertook a careful analysis to determine whether Mr. Gale’s conduct crossed the line and what repercussions should follow if it did. The CAT applied the legal test in Manorama Sennek,
v. Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 116, 2018 ONCAT 4 to determine whether Mr. Gale had become a vexatious litigant. The CAT considered whether Mr. Gale brought the application for an improper purpose. The CAT defined an improper purpose to include “using the Tribunal to harass other parties to get what one wants or to prove a point, and to challenge the board’s authority”. After reCONDOVOICE WINTER 2022
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CV
ILLUSTRATION BY MAURICE VELLEKOOP
Recently, Mr. Jack Gale returned to the CAT for the ninth (9th) occasion to address his 70th records request made to Halton Condominium Corporation No. 61 (“HCC 61”) since November 2017. This time he took issue with the adequacy of HCC 61’s November 21, 2021 board meeting minutes. As the resident “condo commando”, Mr. Gale was concerned that the minutes lacked the transparency and detail needed to keep unit owners informed about their condominium and its management. Mr. Gale’s complaints related to issues pertaining to grammar such as “Director” versus “Directors” and the omission of certain facts about elevator noise complaints that emerged after the meeting took place.
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2022-12-29 12:05 PM