January 28, 2025 – Unjust Enrichment & Joint Family Venture

“To obtain an award for unjust enrichment arising from a joint family venture, a claimant must show two things: first, a joint family venture; and second, a link between the claimant’s contribution to the venture and the accumulation of assets or wealth: see Kerr v. Baranow, at para. 87.

In Kerr v. Baranow, Cromwell J. said that to be entitled to a remedy for unjust enrichment arising from a joint family venture, the claimant must show “a link between his or her contributions to it and the accumulation of assets and/or wealth” (at para. 100). In other words, the family’s accumulation of wealth must have resulted from the parties’ mutual efforts. Cromwell J. wrote, at para. 102:

Once the claimant has established his or her contribution to a joint family venture, and a link between that contribution and the accumulation of wealth, the respective contributions of the parties are taken into account in determining the claimant’s proportionate share.”

            Farkas v. Bedic, 2016 ONCA 82 (CanLII) at 35, 42

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