Edited by Amanda Kostek
Last week’s Court Rulings from the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, Court of Appeal and SCC.
Winslow v Thivierge, 2026 ABKB 273
Whether Offers are binding
Coalspur Mines (Operations) Ltd v CWA Engineers Inc, 2026 ABKB 268
Disclosure of Evidence from Insurer
Winslow v Thivierge, 2026 ABKB 273
In a breach of contract action one party alleged they had an agreement, and the other alleged they did not due to a counter offer. The Court affirmed that for a binding legal agreement there must be “offer and acceptance, and certainty of terms, meaning the parties must have reached agreement on all the essential terms of their agreement,” and that a “counteroffer kills the original offer”, because it is the rejection of an offer and the making of a new offer”. In this case an already signed version of the contract was altered to add the word “saw”. The Court considered this a counter offer and concluded that it contained more than a ‘trivial’ clarification. As a result, it amounted to a rejection of the prior offer and there was no agreement.
Coalspur Mines (Operations) Ltd v CWA Engineers Inc, 2026 ABKB 268
One party was asked by way of undertaking for information in the hands of its insurer and broker. The Court declined to require disclosure on the basis that an “insured generally has no power to demand the files held by their insurer or insurance broker, and there is no basis to believe that any exceptional power to demand such records is held”.