This question is addressed in the June 8, 2018 decision of Justice Nishikawa in Galsan Holdings Inc. v. Davalnat Holdings Inc., 2018 ONSC 3600 (CanLII).
There, a corporation, Seabrook Properties Inc. (“Seabrook”), owned a commercial property (actually, the application involved two different corporations owning two different properties, but each property was addressed on the same basis). For sake of simplicity, I will only discuss one of the properties). The corporation was owned by Galsan Holdings Inc. (“Galsan”), as to 50%, and Davalnat Holdings Inc. (“Davalnat”), as to the other 50%. Galsan was, in turn, wholly owned by a Mr. Gallo, and Davalnat was wholly owned by a Mr. Calvano. Gallo and Calvano were the officers and directors of Seabrook.
The business relationship between Gallo and Calvano broke down, and Gallo and his company Galan brought an application for partition and sale.
The application was dismissed. The court held that Gallo and Galsan did not have the requisite standing to bring the Application. Under s. 2 of the Partition Act,
All joint tenants, tenants in common, and coparceners, all doweresses, and parties entitled to dower, tenants by curtesy, mortgagees or other creditors having liens on, and all other parties interested in, to or out of, any land in Ontario may be compelled to make or suffer partition or sale of the land, or any part thereof, whether the estate is legal and equitable or equitable only.
In considering the section, the court applied an Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Greenbanktree Power Corp. v. Coinamatic Canada Inc., which held that a person with “an interest in the land” has a prima facie right to compel partition or sale. Only a person or corporation “entitled to the immediate possession of an estate in property” may bring an action or make an application for its partition or sale.
In the case before the court, the property was owned by Seabrook. The shareholders, Galsan and Davalnat, did not have a possessory interest in the property. The shareholder of Galsan, Mr. Gallo, was “a further step removed” from the property, and similarly had no prima facie right to partition.
There was no suggestion that Seabrook was holding the property as a bare trustee. If the property was owned by a corporation as a bare trustee, the beneficiaries may be considered to have an interest in the land, and may be entitled to compel a partition or sale.
Although the application was dismissed, it is not that the parties are without a remedy. Gallo and Galsan had also commenced an oppression remedy proceeding, seeking a winding up of Seabrook. This proceeding continued.
For another discussion of partition or sale proceedings see my blog, here.
Have a great weekend.