Automotive Franchises

This is a frequently cited decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, which reversed the decision of the motion judge and granted summary judgment for rescission in favour of the franchisee. There were significant disclosure deficiencies in the franchise disclosure document, including stale-dated financial statements of the franchisor, required signatures of the franchisor’s officers and directors, and piecemeal disclosure. This decision is also the first Court of Appeal decision expressly holding that the test for a franchisor’s compliance with its disclosure obligations under the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000, is objective; that the focus is on the nature of the deficiency and its impact on the disclosure requirements on a reasonable (not subjective) standard.