GM offered compensation to dealers whose dealerships were closed pursuant to the terms of a government bailout. The dealers started a class action for $750 million in Ontario, claiming that GM had forced them to sign contracts and that Cassels Brock was negligent in providing legal advice. The key issue here was whether these contracts had been formed in Ontario. If they were, the Ontario courts would have jurisdiction over the lawsuit. GM sent an agreement to each of the dealers for execution. Each dealer had to sign the agreement and return it to GM by a specified date. GM also indicated that the agreements would not be effective “unless and until GM provides written notice to those dealers that the Acceptance Threshold Condition and any other required conditions have been met or have been waived by GM . . . ” Was the contract with a dealer formed when GM signed the executed agreement after it was received from the dealer (i.e., in Ontario), or when the dealer received the written notice from GM (i.e., in the province in which the dealer was located)?
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