In this interesting case, a buyer entered into an agreement with a builder to purchase a property, pre-construction, but due to a 9 minute delay in providing funds ended up spending an additional $113,000 for closing.

This particular case is for a claim of the money back by the buyer, bringing into light the concept of "Closing Under Protest".  Their claim was denied

Details:

-Buyer purchased a property from Valstar Homes (Oakville Sixth Line) Inc. set to close no later than 5:00pm on Jan 27, 2021

-Agreement stated time is of the essence (as most agreements) for this contract and any acceleration or extension thereof

-In December 2021, Builder extended to April 20, 2021

-The buyer foresaw a delay on April 20, 2021 and asked for a 1 day extension, through counsel

-Builder denied the extension, as time was of the essence

-Buyer found private funding before the day's end and wired the money to Valstar’s solicitor at 4:52 p.m. but the funds did not arrive until 5:09 p.m. 

-The next day, April 21, 2021, Valstar took the position that the buyers breached the contract, as time was of the essence.  Valstar's counsel said they would wire back the funds.

-Later that day, Valstar offered to "revive" the Agremeent if the purchasers added $100,000 + $13,000 HST.  The price was justified based on the claim that price of the property had increased approximately $600,000 since time of purchase. 

-The Buyer agreed

-The Buyer claim to have closed under protest, and want their money back

-This was denied by the court as the letter from their counsel accepting Valstar's offer made no reference to a protest.