Realtor firm, agent seek to dismiss $1.9M lawsuit over alleged misrepresentation

The Manitoba Law Courts building in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

A real estate firm and its agent are seeking to have a homebuyer’s lawsuit dismissed, denying allegations they mispresented the square footage of a home that sold for over a million dollars.

According to a statement of claim filed last month, Chantal Desjardins claims she purchased a home in the Rural Municipality of East St. Paul from Royal LePage realtor Derek Denault after her $1.05-million offer was accepted in March 2025.

The filing alleges the listing described the home as having a living area of 9,891 square feet and a pool house measuring 4,900-plus square feet. A discrepancy was allegedly later identified during an appraisal conducted to finance renovations, which found the living area to be nearly one-third the listed size—3,332 square feet—with the pool house measuring 3,605 square feet.

Desjardins subsequently filed a civil lawsuit against Royal LePage Prime Real Estate and Derek Denault Personal Real Estate Corporation, seeking more than $1.9 million—the profit it says she expected to realize from renovating and reselling the property.

In a joint statement of defence filed Monday, both defendants called for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

The filing states that any representations they made to Desjardins—which the defendants deny—were based on information provided on behalf of a bank that retained them to sell the property following a foreclosure.

Any supplied information ‘without any representation or warranty’

The statement of defence also cites several clauses from the offer-to-purchase agreement, which it says Desjardins agreed to. One states that any information provided by the vendor or its agents “was supplied without any representation or warranty and that the responsibility for verification of any such information shall be wholly the responsibility of the purchaser.”

According to the filing, another clause states that the purchaser “agrees that the purchase of the property has been made entirely in reliance upon the purchaser’s own inspection and investigation of the property.”

The filing also notes that Desjardins viewed the property on numerous occasions and declined to include a home inspection as a condition of the offer, despite that option being available to her.

The statement of defence further claims that Denault at no time acted as Desjardins’ agent and that Royal LePage did not represent her—stating she had her own real estate agent and brokerage throughout the transaction.

The filing also cites a clause from the offer to purchase, noting that buyers are urged to make their own inquiries on matters important to them, as the seller’s knowledge of the property “may be incomplete or inaccurate.”

It says all steps taken by Daneault—described in the filings as an independent contractor associated with Royal LePage—were done according to the approved and reasonable practice of real estate professionals in Manitoba. It also denies that Royal LePage can be held vicariously liable for the conduct of independent contractors.

The filing says that any loss, damage, injury, or harm sustained by Desjardins, which the defendants deny, is solely a result of the actions and decisions by her prior to submitting the offer to purchase, adding that those allegations are “excessive and unreasonable.”

“The defendants say the plaintiff was negligent in her own conduct … including her failure to make appropriate inquiries regarding the property and/or her intended plans for the property,” reads the filing.

CTV News has reached out to the plaintiff’s lawyer for comment and is awaiting a response.

None of the claims have been tested in court.