Vrbanek should be held personally liable based on fraud and the doctrine of lifting/piercing the corporate veil, among other things At the time of the trial, DN had gone bankrupt, and the Zerbins contended that Mr.
PERSONAL NIGHTMARE PLUS
The Zerbins ended their contractual relationship with DN and finalized their projects by themselves.Īccording to the Alberta Court of King's Bench’s finding, DN received an excess of $1,477,409 CDN plus an additional $39,001.41 USD for the two projects.
PERSONAL NIGHTMARE FULL
Zerbin that there were significant amounts owing on services or materials supplied, despite the Zerbins having paid Vrbanek in full for such services and materials.
Zerbin had conversations with other subcontractors who also claimed that they were asked to increase their quotes. Vrbanek asked him on multiple occasions to raise his initial quotes and coerced him into paying him a $35,000.00 kickback. Vrbanek “was ’engineering’ prices for personal gain”. She met Daniel Tran, who advised her that Mr. Zerbin attended at the business of one of their suppliers in search of countertops. For the sake of expediency, the parties agreed that DN would handle all payments to suppliers and subcontractors on the Zerbins’ behalf, and in turn, invoice them monthly.Ī few years into building their home, Mrs. Under the contracts entered into by the parties, DN was the agent of the Zerbins for the purposes of obtaining quotes from third-party trades and suppliers, and it would charge its management fee as a percentage of the work performed or materials supplied. DN Developments provided its services through Darren Vrbanek, its sole principal, director, and shareholder. The Zerbins hired DN Developments (“ DN”) to provide construction management services for the build of their dream home and another smaller unit for their daughter.
While this case involved many complex issues such as allegations of fraud, conspiracy, defamation, and breach of contract, the focus of this article will be on the issue of a finding of personal liability against an incorporated contractor.
That was the case in Zerbin v Vrbanek (2020 ABQB 797, aff’d 2021 ABCA 317), where David and Barbara Zerbin (the “ Zerbins”) found out the hard way that building your dream home can easily become a nightmare. However, things do not always go according to plan. The ability to customize your living environment and make it “just right” for you seems like a dream come true. We all dream of that perfect home, and being able to build it from the ground up is even more enticing.
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