Tarion shelled out tens of millions to homebuyers whose houses were never built. Now it's suing this Ontario developer to recoup those losses
Ontario's homebuyer protection agency is suing a developer to recoup tens of millions of dollars it has paid to purchasers who lost deposits on homes that were never built.
In two separate lawsuits filed in February,
Tarion
is seeking at least $87 million in damages the agency says it has suffered in compensating more than 900 StateView Homes purchasers.
The litigation marks a new low in the tumultuous collapse of StateView, which in just three years went from a rising star to being embroiled in scandal and insolvency. In May, Ontario's Home Construction Regulatory Authority
charged seven StateView companies
and their three executives in 'the illegal sale' of hundreds of pre-construction homes across the Greater Toronto Area.
In its lawsuit filed Feb. 12, Tarion sued three StateView Homes executives — brothers Carlo and Dino Taurasi, and former chief financial officer Daniel Ciccone — for alleged breach of contract. The second suit, filed about two weeks later, targets not only the executives, but also their spouses as well as a large group of StateView-affiliated firms. The second lawsuit also alleges fraudulent conveyance and unjust enrichment.
Tarion says both statements of claim intend to cover the same losses but the second one has not been served on the defendants.
In response to the first claim, StateView Homes CEO Carlo Taurasi, one of the defendants, denies all allegations in a statement of defence. If Tarion has sustained any of the alleged damages, 'those damages are not attributable in whole or in part to any actionable act or omission on the part of Carlo,' he said in the defence.
StateView Homes's Carlo Taurasi (left) and Dino Taurasi (right).
Ciccone says he intends to defend. Dino Taurasi, vice president of the StateView group of companies, did not respond to requests for comment.
An
October 2023 Star investigation
found StateView collected tens of millions of dollars in deposits from homebuyers for hundreds of homes that it did not have authorization to sell. In at least one case, the developer solicited deposits for unbuilt houses on land StateView did not yet own.
Tarion alleges in the Feb. 12 suit that the three executives refused to honour the agreements to indemnify the agency for losses from its repayment of the purchasers' deposit claims, and seeks more than $87 million to cover its deposit payouts and associated fees.
Under the agreements, Tarion claims that the Taurasi brothers and the former CFO agreed to 'indemnify and save Tarion harmless' from any losses that may arise resulting from the failure of StateView to perform its obligations, or from the payment by Tarion of the purchasers' deposit claims.
An indemnity agreement involves a person other than the builder agreeing to indemnify Tarion if the builder does not satisfy its obligations, according to Tarion.
Under a controversial new rule, some homebuyers may end up getting less deposit coverage if things go awry with their builders.
Under a controversial new rule, some homebuyers may end up getting less deposit coverage if things go awry with their builders.
In his statement of defence, Carlo denied that he is responsible for any alleged unmet obligations to Tarion and denies agreeing to indemnify Tarion from any losses arising from the failures of StateView businesses. The CEO also denies 'being a party to any agreements' with Tarion, and denies that Tarion is entitled to any damages regarding the alleged agreements.
'In any event, the alleged damages are too excessive and too remote,' he states.
None of the allegations have been tested in court. The litigation is still in the early stages and there are no scheduled court dates.
The second lawsuit, filed on Feb. 27, alleges that the StateView companies have fundamentally breached purchase agreements by failing to construct and deliver the homes to purchasers, failing to hold the deposit in trust, and failing to refund deposits to purchasers. It also alleges the developer failed to indemnify Tarion for all losses and costs that Tarion suffers by StateView's failure to perform obligations.
Tarion has not served the statement of claim on the defendants. In Ontario, a claim can be served within six months after filing.
The lawsuit identifies the Taurasis, Ciccone and their spouses as well as 15 StateView-affiliated companies as those who could have received the deposit proceeds, and alleges that the recipients have been unjustly enriched by withholding or receiving the deposits from homebuyers.
It alleges that the deposit proceeds were transferred out of the StateView companies associated with development projects when StateView knew that it was on the eve of insolvency. Tarion alleges that the developer moved the monies 'with the intent to hinder, delay, or prejudice the purchasers, and/or to prefer the interests of other creditors over those of the purchasers.'
Most of the pre-construction developments that StateView Homes marketed between 2020 and 2023 have never been built.
Ciccone, a defendant of the claim, told the Star, 'The purported second claim by Tarion has not been served nor did I have any awareness of the action prior to your inquiry. It would be inappropriate for me to comment or for you to publish information relating to a matter which has not been served on the defendants.'
The Taurasi brothers did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations contained in the second lawsuit.
After a rapid expansion around 2020, at least eight StateView-affiliated companies were put under receivership, and most of the pre-construction developments they marketed between 2020 and 2023 have never been built.
The 2023 Star investigation found that the Taurasi brothers appeared to have spent money lavishly when StateView allegedly sold pre-construction homes without authorizations across the GTA. They bought nine units in the Woodbridge industrial plaza for $15 million, one of which was seen at the time storing cars including a 2002 Corvette and a leased Maserati. In 2022, videos posted on TikTok appeared to show Dino Taurasi taking private jet trips, one to the Bahamas and another to Aruba.
StateView previously told the Star that it worked diligently to make sure that it had the required approvals for any development. Carlo Taurasi said while StateView always intended to complete all the projects, they could no longer do that because of events that were outside their control.
Even if Tarion is successful in its lawsuits, it's unclear how much there'll be to recoup.
The statements of claim came at the tail end of a slew of insolvency proceedings where StateView's assets and funds have been distributed to pay back its secured creditors such as mortgage providers and suppliers.
One of the firms, StateView Homes (On the Mark) Inc., has been assigned into bankruptcy by a receiver. It owed a creditor $19.6 million at the time and the sale of the company's assets covered about $13 million.
Several other StateView firms have been discharged from receivership proceedings after the receiver distributed tens of millions of dollars of funds to the creditors.
In one case, StateView Homes (BEA Towns) Inc. owed its 'first priority' creditor nearly $50 million. The receiver said in a report that the sale proceeds of its property would not be sufficient to repay the creditor in full. BEA Towns was previously marketed as a 218-unit townhome project in Barrie. It remained undeveloped by the time the receivership began.
In total, Tarion has paid out more than $77 million to more than 950 purchasers who were impacted by StateView's actions, Tarion's spokesperson told the Star.
To put that into perspective, the total amount of deposit claims Tarion paid from 2005 to 2021 was about $15 million, just under $1 million per year.
The drain StateView homebuyers' deposit claims took on Tarion's war chest played a big part in impelling Tarion to introduce a controversial new measure to require freehold home purchasers to notify the agency within 45 days after entering into a purchase agreement. If the purchasers fail to do so, they may face reduced deposit coverage should anything go wrong with the development.
Tarion said the new requirement, set to kick in on July 1, will help identify rogue builders earlier but critics say it could end up punishing consumers instead of proactively policing the new home construction industry.
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