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Spring 2019

 

39th BILD Awards - Ed Sorbara and Great Gulf are among the Big Winners


 

Leor Margulies, Real Estate Partner, and Tara Welat, Senior Real Estate Associate, were in attendance at the 39th BILD Awards held at the Universal Event Space on May 3, 2019. Ed Sorbara, Principal and CEO of the Sorbara Group, an established and well-respected commercial and residential land developer and home builder in the GTA, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his service in the industry, BILD and the community.

"What I think really defines Edward is the man he is and the way he contributes to industry efforts, never being afraid to tell it like it is and always in the context of what is best for the Greater Toronto Area,” David Wilkes, CEO of BILD.

Congratulations Ed!!

Fittingly, the last award of the night was given to Great Gulf as the Home Builder of the Year Low-Rise. Two of our other clients, Times Group and CollecDev, were both finalists in the Green Builder of the Year category, which was ultimately won by Tridel. We are proud to have worked with all of these winners and runner-ups, and congratulate all of the finalists and winners of the other prestigious awards. The event was attended by close to 1,300 people, evidencing yet again, a very healthy and vibrant land building and development industry in the GTA.


BIG DEALS


 
 
 
 

Leor Margulies, head of our Real Estate Group, together with Tara Welat, senior associate in our Real Estate Group, and real estate clerk, Cindy Applegath, acted on behalf of Woburn Plaza Inc. in the negotiation and sale of its commercial plaza located at 1125 Markham Road and 2141 Ellesmere Road, Toronto. The transaction was completed on April 2, 2019 at a purchase price of $20 Million.


LAWYERS FEED THE HUNGRY


 
 

Lawyers Feed the Hungry Program

On February 26, 2019, Robins Appleby LLP sponsored a hot meal for Toronto's homeless community through the Law Society Foundation's Lawyers Feed the Hungry Program. We sent a team of lawyers and articling students to join the Law Society Foundation staff and program volunteers to serve and prepare dinner for over 400 guests. The night was a great success and the program is a community cause that Robins Appleby LLP is proud to support. We look forward to our continued involvement with this program and thank the Law Society Foundation for including us in its community outreach initiatives.


LAWYERS SPEAK


 
 

ICSC Shopping Centre Law Conference - Toronto

On March 28, 2019, Darrell M. Gold, a partner in our Real Estate Group, led two over-capacity roundtable discussions at the ICSC Shopping Centre Law Conference. The sessions titled "Insurance 101 – Just the Basics", were interactive discussions on the topic of the insurance provisions contained in commercial leases. Attendees included property owners, property managers, commercial real estate lawyers, and in-house legal counsel.

 

The Six Minute Commercial Leasing Lawyer – Law Society of Ontario

On February 25, 2019, Darrell M. Gold, a partner in our Real Estate Group, once again participated as a guest speaker at The Six Minute Commercial Leasing Lawyer held at the Law Society of Ontario. Darrell's presentation was titled "Are You Sure You Understand Insurance Terms in Leases?". Attendees were primarily lawyers who specialize in, or whose practice includes, commercial leasing. Property owners, property managers and in-house legal counsel were also in attendance.


EVENTS


 

JLSA Event

On the evening of March 13, 2019, Robins Appleby LLP hosted a reception for 50 law students from the Osgoode Jewish Law Student Association and University of Toronto's Jewish Law Student Association for their 5th annual evening of networking and mentoring.

Click here to see the gallery ►

 

Purim Event

Our 13th Annual Purim Holiday Lunch & Learn was held Friday March 15, 2019 . Once again the event was a great success!

Over 45 guests were treated to a presentation by our guest speaker, Rabbi Elie Karfunkel of the Albert and Temmy Latner Forest Hill Jewish Centre, great wine, scotch, sushi, deli sandwiches, and holiday "hamentaschen" pastries for dessert. Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in Persia (now Iran) 2,300 years ago from a death decree orchestrated by "Haman", the royal advisor to the Persian King, Xerxes I.

Click here to see the gallery ►


LAWYERS WRITE


 
 

Pre-construction sale cancellations: What are the options?
April 11, 2019 - By David A. Taub

What can a purchaser do when their agreement to purchase a pre-construction condominium unit is cancelled? This affects condo investors, or landlords, that buy multiple new units to lease out.

Click Here to read full article ►

 

Real reasons for high cost of Toronto housing: All in the Numbers
April 10, 2019 - Published in Lawyer's Daily by Leor Margulies

In my first two articles on this subject I offered four reasons why housing is so expensive in the Greater Toronto Area. Here are the remaining elephants in the affordable housing room.

Click Here to read full article ►

This is the third part of a three-part series. Read part one here and part two here.

 
 

Masters denied judges' 'enhanced powers' -
April 2, 2019 - Published in Law Times with David Taub

Masters hearing Construction Lien Act cases do not have the same enhanced powers of authority as a judge, Justice Edward Belobaba said in a March 14 decision.

In R & V Construction v. Baradaran, 2019 ONSC 1551, Belobaba set aside a master's order, which had ruled in favour of the plaintiff and awarded the plaintiff more than $78,000. The case, a dispute about a 2016 home renovation project between plaintiff R & V Construction Management Inc. and defendant Manoucher Baradaran, should have proceeded with a trial, Belobaba wrote in the decision.

Click Here to read full article ►

 
 

Putting the 'M' back into CMHC: New housing incentive plan
March 21, 2019 - Published in The Lawyer's Daily by John Fox

Judging by the reaction, the federal government caught more than a few people by surprise with their new housing incentive plan in Tuesday's budget. That’s the plan that provides a shared equity loan to first-time home buyers. Some people think it’s a great way to get young people into homes, others are warning that it’s going to cause a housing bubble.

Click Here to read full article ►

 
 

The Lawyer: The strikes are coming, the strikes are coming
February 22, 2019 - By Leor Margulies

I am sure everyone vividly remembers the chaos that the residential building industry went through in 2016. I've been working with OHBA and Tarion to avoid a repeat of the confusion.

Click Here to read full article ►

 
 

The duality faced by female lawyers
February 4, 2019 - By Barbara Green

Can female lawyers have it all in 2019? It’s a good question. The fact that we are still asking it in 2019 says that we’re not out of the woods yet, but we are farther along the road to a better work-life balance than we were in prior years.

Click Here to read full article ►

 
 

Toronto City Council approves the Housing Now Initiative
February 1, 2019 - By John Fox, Tara Welat & Noah Ciglen

This week, Toronto City Council approved the Housing Now Initiative which would create more affordable housing in Toronto.

Click Here to read full article ►

 

OUR LAWYERS


 
 
 

LAWYER INTERVIEW


 
 

Interview with Amanda Laren


 
 
 
 

 

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The comments contained in this newsletter provide general information only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Further particulars on the matters summarized in this newsletter, their implications and suggested courses of action, can be obtained from Robins Appleby LLP using the contact information provided herein. This e-mail is being sent to you as a contact of our Firm.

 
   
 

Robins Appleby LLP  |  2600-120 Adelaide St. W., Toronto, ON M5H 1T1
T. 416.868.1080   F. 416.868.0306

 
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