Property Law & Real Estate Construction Law

Running head: PROPERTY LAW & REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION LAW 1
Property Law & Real Estate Construction Law
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1PROPERTY LAW & REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION LAW
Qtn 1
(a) Your neighbour's dog has been driving you crazy with its barking – and after a
heated discussion with your neighbour, your neighbour throws the dog's food dish at
you. The dish hits you, then bounces off and breaks one of your home's small windows.
You want to sue your neighbour. In which court would you sue? Assuming the case
made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, name the courts your case would
be heard in, noting any obstacles you would face inproceeding through to the Supreme
Court of Canada.
As per the Canadian legal system, the neighbour is liable to mischief offence. There exist
various forms of mischief as explained by the Canadian criminal code. However, the most
popular form of mischief offence is when an individual damages or destroys property, makes
property useless or dangerous, ineffective or in operative among others. There should be
proof that the accused actions made the property useless or led to the impairment of the
property. Examples of mischief include among others; vandalism, damaging public property
and damaging private property (Patrick e tal., 2009).
Mischief, if one is found guilty can be Avery serious offence which may result into
ten year jail or fines basing on the nature of damage caused. In this case, it is clear that my
neighbour destroyed one of my house small windows which in its very nature tantamount to
mischief according to the Canadian legal system (Patrick e tal.,2009).
In this case, the courts of law have to determine the nature of sentence to be given to
my neighbour basing on the nature of mischief committed, the current misunderstanding a
rising from the barking of the dog among others. It is important to note that disputes

2PROPERTY LAW & REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION LAW
involving two persons as per the Canadian legal system are categorized as civil offences and
thus handled by civil courts. Given that the nature of the offence committed is not very grave,
the matter can first be handled by the provincial courts of Canada (Richard e tal.,2006).
If the matter is not well addressed by the provincial courts, it can be forwarded to
superior courts. The last court that can offer justice after the mentioned courts have failed is
the Supreme Court. The supreme court of Canada is comprised of 9 honourable judges
headed by the Canadian chief justice. Appellate courts decisions are heard by the Supreme
Court. Therefore, it can generally be concluded that in case the above case goes up to the
supreme court it will first be heard by the provincial and superior courts whose judgment may
pave way to appeal to the supreme court to get a final verdict and interpretation of offences
which results into mischief and how they are punished as per the current laws and legislations
(Richard and Mann, 2013).
(b) You want to claim financially for the injury you suffered, as well as for the cost of
cleaning up the glass and repairing the window. While you were not hurt badly, nor did
the window cost much, you want to bring an action to make sure your neighbour pays
for what occurred. Discuss the type of action you would bring, and which court would
be the best for your action, stating at least three reasons for your choice of venue.
Any deliberate property destruction amount to mischief as per the Canadian legal system. The
amount of property and injury caused by the incident is one of the determinants of the likely
penalty to be imposed on the offender. Where property is less than $5,000, the accused will
be criminalized of an offence which is indictable and thus imprisoned for a maximum of
2years. On the other hand where the destroyed property is above 5000 dollars, it may results
into an imprisonment of ten years. Further, mischief is an indictable offence and results into
imprisonment for life in cases where the offence imposes a real on life.

3PROPERTY LAW & REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION LAW
In this case it is clear the actions of the neighbours caused property destruction and
threatened life which is a very serious offence (Robert, 2010). The issue to determine whether
the injury caused or property damaged was grave is for court. But at the moment it is clear
property and injury was caused which is the violation of human rights law, international law,
the constitution together with other existing laws and statues. It is important to note that the
fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are inherent and not granted by the state. No
one has right to cause damage or threaten the life of the other person (Robert, 2010).
In this case life was threatened and property destroyed. Therefore given that the
overall damages caused by neighbour in monitory terms may exceed $50,000 if the injury
caused and property destroyed are put into consideration, it will be critically relevant if the
matter is presented to the Court of Queen's Bench or any other higher court. The matter will
be presented to Court of Queen's Bench to ensure that all the damages caused as a result of
the offence are compensated,
Secondly, the offence committed is grave in nature and life threatening and thus
cannot be tried by a lower court. Lastly, in case the justice is not effectively provided in this
court it will be easier to go to a higher court which is the court of appeal with limited time
wasted (Hogg, 2007).
As a part of your answer, briefly explain the differences between civil and criminal
proceedings and relate this answer to the issue above.
Criminal proceedings are handled by crown prosecutors. In other words it is the crown
prosecutor who decides whether to sue or impose a charge against some body or not. In other
words, criminal proceedings are cases raised by Government. Also criminal proceedings
involve imprisonment on the side of the accused. While civil proceedings are undertaken by a
private person against an individual who caused financial, emotional or physical loss to