Cases
4258843 Canada Inc. v. KPMG, 2024 QCCS 760
The principal (“Pilon”) of an incorporated family business (“Gennium”) sought to secure asset protection for the significant dividends...
ALLAN JAY GORDON AND JAMES ALLAN DEACUR v. HIS MAJESTY THE KING, 2023 FCA 12
After a criminal prosecution of the appellants, in connection with allegedly fraudulent SR&ED claims, was stayed, the appellants brought an action...
Chen v. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., 2020 ONSC 1477
Consistent with the industry practice, TD Waterhouse sent to CRA individual T-5008 forms for each sales transaction of the taxpayer (Mr. Chen)...
Kaye et al. v. Fogler Rubinoff LLP et al., 2019 ONSC 1289
An estate sued its law firm in negligence after CRA assessed it over $9 million on the basis that the method used to transfer shares to a...
Brunette v. Legault Joly Thiffault, s.e.n.c.r.l., 2018 SCC 55, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 481
The appellants were the two trustees of a Quebec trust (“Fiducie”) and the respondents were a group of legal and accounting firms. ...
Ludmer v. Attorney General of Canada, 2018 QCCS 3381, aff'd 2020 QCCA 697
CRA made unreasonable reassessments with the knowledge that they were contrary to advice received from Rulings, offered in a settlement offer to...
Barker v Baxendale Walker Solicitors (a firm) & Anor, [2017] EWCA Civ 2056
Mr Baxendale-Walker, the sole equity partner in a law firm specializing in advising on tax-avoidance schemes, charged the taxpayer (Mr Barker) a...
Deloitte & Touche v. Livent Inc. (Receiver of), 2017 SCC 63, [2017] 2 S.C.R. 855
In August 1997, Deloitte, who were the auditors of Livent, determined that they disagreed with Livent’s reporting of a sale of air rights. ...
Ozerdinc Family Trust v Gowling, 2017 ONSC 6
n 2007, the defendant tax lawyer (“Siegel”) accommodated clients’ requests to extend the distribution date for a children’s trust...
Deluca v Canada, 2016 ONSC 3865
The taxpayer used proceeds of a loan from “Barter World Canada Inc.” to acquire “TradeBux” from another Barter World entity (as well as to...
Felty v. Ernst & Young LLP, 2015 BCCA 445
The appellant’s B.C. law firm retained Ernst & Young to provide her with U.S. tax advice in connection with negotiating a separation agreement...
Livent Inc. v. Deloitte & Touche, 128 OR (3d) 225, 2016 ONCA 11, rev'd in part 2017 SCC 63
A negligent audit by an auditing firm (“Deloitte”) of a Canadian public corporation (“Livent”), in which Deloitte failed to discover that...
Canada v. Scheuer, 2016 DTC 5011 [at 6551], 2016 FCA 7
The taxpayers participated in the same gifting tax shelter as Ficek. In suing CRA for negligence, they asserted that it breached a duty of care to...
Taiga Building Products Ltd. v. Deloitte & Touche, LLP, 2014 DTC 5082 [at at 7068], 2014 BCSC 1083
The defendant ("D&T"), which was the auditor of the plaintiff (Taiga), recommended that Taiga adopt a plan to minimize provincial taxes, relying...
Leroux v. CRA, 2014 DTC 5068 [at at 6923], 2014 BCSC 720
The taxpayer was assessed for approximately $600,000 so as to treat sales of logs as on income account and to deny expenses. The tax debt was...
Groupe Enico inc. c. Agence du revenu du Québec, 2013 QCCS 5189
A Revenu Québec auditor (who was under a quota for producing $1,000 per hour of recoveries) generated false and fictitious entires in the...
Lipson v. Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, 2013 ONCA 165, rev'g 2012 DTC 5013 [at 6604], 2011 ONSC 6724
The plaintiff, along with about 900 other taxpayers, indirectly acquired rights to timeshare weeks at a Carribean resort, and donated the rights...
Charette v. Trinity Capital Corporation, 2012 DTC 5100 [at at 7061], 2012 ONSC 2824
The plaintiff participated in a tax avoidance scheme, in which he and other Canadian taxpayers would make leveraged charitable donations, for the...
Lemberg v. Perris, 2010 DTC 5132 [at at 7132], 2010 ONSC 3690
Tax advisors owe a fiduciary obligation to their clients, because the clients should be entitled to trust that they are being advised as to their...
Hodgkinson v. Simms (1994), 117 DLR (4th) 161, 95 D.T.C 5135, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 377
The defendant, who was a chartered accountant, advised the plaintiff to invest in certain MURBs but, contrary to the rules of professional...
285614 Alberta Ltd. and Maplesden v. Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, [1993] WWR 374, 8 BLR (2d) 280 (Alta. Q.B.)
A partner in a law firm ("Spackman") suggested to two individual clients (Mr. & Mrs. Maplesden) that Mr. Maplesden finance a home purchase through...
J.F. Newton Ltd. v. Thorne Riddell, 91 DTC 5276, [1991] 2 CTC 91 (BCSC)
Immediately prior to the completion of the sale by plaintiff of shares of a private company, the company redeemed a portion of its shares held by...
See Also
McMahon v Grant Thornton UK LLP, [2020] CSOH 50
Mr McMahon (the pursuer) sold all the shares of Lomond Motors Ltd in 2012, thereby realizing a gain that exceeded the then limit for...
Le restaurant Le Relais de Saint-Jean Inc. v. The Queen, 2020 QCCA 823
In Le restaurant Le Relais de Saint-Jean Inc. v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 515, Lamarre J was critical of the ARQ auditor for using an arbitrary...
Ludmer v. Attorney General of Canada, 2020 QCCA 697
CRA made unreasonable reassessments with the knowledge that they were contrary to advice received from Rulings, offered in a settlement offer to...
Halsall & Ors v Champion Consulting Ltd & Ors, [2017] EWHC 1079 (QBD)
The claimants, who were non-tax solicitors, claimed that they had been negligently induced by the defendant accounting firm (“Champion LLP”)...
Mehjoo v. Harben Barker, [2014] BTC 17, [2014] EWCA Civ 358
The appellant and defendant ("HB") was a firm of chartered accountants who had provided accountancy services and general tax advice to the...
Articles
Jack Bernstein, "Accountants Limit Liability for Negligence", Canadian Tax Highlights, Vol. 24, No. 6, June 2016, p. 11.
Felty decision: limitation of liability in engagement agreement respected (p. 11)
In Felty v. Ernst & Young LLP (2015 BCCA 445), the BCCA decided...
Thomas E. McDonnell, "Tax Avoidance, Morality, and Professional Responsibility", Tax for the Owner-Manager, Volume 14, Number 1, January 2014, p. 5.
Directors not responsible for avoiding tax (p. 1)
[O]ne NGO, the Tax Justice Network (TJN), published a legal opinion last September [of Farrer]...
Shaira Nanji, "Can Taxpayers Successfully Sue the CRA for Negligence", CCH Tax Topics", No. 2171, October 17, 2013, p. 1
Does CRA owe a duty of care? (p.1)
…several recent decisions have wrestled with the question of whether a negligent act or negligent supervision...