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I've been researching the concept of Estoppel. It seems Alberta's Law refers to it as a document linked ONLY to condominium management, while canadawide it is understood as "the principle which precludes a person from asserting something contrary to what is implied by a previous action or statement of that person or by a previous pertinent judicial determination."
Am I wrong or is Alberta taking a very limited application of the concept of Estoppel?
Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed. defines "estoppel: as "[a] bar or impediment raised by the law, which precludes a man from alleging or from denying a certain fact or state of facts, in consequence of his previous allegation or denial or conduct or admission, or in consequence of a final adjudication of the matter in a court of law. Demarest v. Hopper, 22 N. J. Law, 019; Martin v. Railroad Co., 83 Me. 100, 21 Atl. 740; Yeeder v. Mudgett, 95 N. Y. 295; South v. Deaton, 113Ky. 312, 08 S. W. 137; Wilkins v. Suttles, 114 N. C. 550, 19 S. E 000".
Estoppel often arises in the context of "res judicata" (n. Latin for "the thing has been judged), a doctrine which prevents a party from re-litigating any claim or defence (or issue) already litigated, meant to ensure the finality of judgments and conserve judicial resources by protecting litigants from multiple litigation involving the same claims or issues. Two distinct forms of res judicata are "issue estoppel" (once an issue has been decided, the parties are bound by a previous decision and cannot keep coming back hoping for a different outcome) and "cause of action estoppel” (which precludes a plaintiff from advancing the same cause of action based on the same facts in two separate proceedings against the same defendant).
An "estoppel certificate" is a document requested from the condominium corporation, usually on a sale or mortgage of a condo unit, which evidences the payment of all condo contributions that are the seller’s obligation to pay. This gives the buyer assurances that no they will have no unforeseen obligations after buying the unit, and it "estops" (prevents) the condo corp from later "asserting" that there are arrears owing by the buyer that arose prior to the estoppel certificate being issued.
So while "estoppel" has a very specific meaning in the condo world, "issue estoppel" is a very real and regular component of Alberta law and of the doctrine of "res judicata".
015 months ago
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