The parties in a Tax Court appeal exchanged emails about settlement. The taxpayers’ counsel, via email, accepted an emailed counter-offer from the Crown. The Crown then sent minutes of settlement that contained terms not in the taxpayers’ original offer as amended by the counter-offer. The taxpayers brought a motion to enforce the settlement that, it argued, had been created by the email exchange. The Tax Court, after reviewing and applying Apotex Inc. v Allergan, Inc., 2016 FCA 155, agreed with the taxpayer that an enforceable settlement agreement had been created by the relevant emails. Signed minutes of settlement were not necessary for creating a binding agreement.
John Bassindale and David West “When Does a Settlement Agreement Exist?” Canadian Tax Focus 16:3 (August 2026)
