The Plaintiff was the exclusive distributor of the Defendants’ plumbing fixtures in Alberta. Both parties asked the Court to approve its interpretation of a contract for sales commissions and grant Summary Judgment.

Master Mason reviewed prior leading authorities and noted the test for Summary Judgment was whether there is any issue of merit that genuinely requires a Trial or, on the other hand, whether the Claim or Defence is “so compelling that the likelihood it will succeed is very high such that it should be determined summarily”. The Court may also examine the existing record to determine if it can make a disposition that is fair and just to both parties.

In this case, the parties agreed that the issue was appropriate for summary determination. Master Mason noted that contractual interpretation questions are often appropriate for summary procedure, and considered the factual matrix and language of the contractual clause at issue. In the result, Master Mason granted Summary Judgment in favour of the Plaintiff.