A “vicious and prolonged” private litigation battle came to an end on Dec. 18, mostly in a stalemate.
After a failed Airbnb venture, the relationship between an ex-Kelowna realtor and a former Alberta CIBC mortgage advisor soured as the two tried to get each other arrested, fired and ultimately sued each other.
In April 2021, plaintiff Jennifer Schwitzer had entered into an informal agreement to become partners in a business venture with defendant Jillian Little as the two came into possession of two homes, one at Breeze Place in Kelowna and one at Longarce Place in Vernon, both of which Little registered with 99 per cent ownership over. The business was filed under the name Little J Vacations Inc.
Their business would sustain hardships as Kelowna started its restrictions on short-term rental properties in 2022. In the same year, the court report said the pair’s relationship started to decline.
“The plaintiff began expressing frustration that no formal agreement (of the business equity) had yet been reached. The defendant, in turn, was frustrated with aspects of the plaintiff’s management of the properties,” the report said.
Claims of theft
As the year went on, the two would further argue over a formal ownership agreement and what their business would look like going forward, “with increasing acrimony, vitriol and distrust,” according to Justice Crerar.
Tensions ballooned in August, as Schwitzer attempted to enter and live in the Breeze property, convinced she was still the location’s property manager.
Schwitzer had lived on the Breeze property the previous September in 2021, managing it. The justice reasoned that she had lived on the property to circumvent Kelowna’s short-term rental bylaw, so the two could continue to list the property on Airbnb.
When Schwitzer entered the property in 2022, she did so without the consent of Little. She then withdrew $11,854 from their business account, to herself claiming she was owed it for her purchases and expenses.
A few days later, Little would change the locks on the property and then call the police on Schwitzer for theft and breaking and entering. Police arrested her, but there were no convictions or charges nor did it lead to a criminal record.
Throughout that year, Little, an Alberta resident, had to fly to Kelowna numerous times to “safeguard the properties,” installing cameras, new locks and hiring a security guard.
Schwitzer then first filed her legal claim against Little in September 2022, and Little filed her counter claim the following month.
Defamation
As the case went on, Little was fired from her position at CIBC in 2024.
CIBC said her termination was due to a few unrelated items, most of which included her business activity with Schwitzer.
One of the big reasons and the reason Little filed a counterclaim for defamation stems from a complaint from one of Schwitzer’s best friends and housemate, Mark Cluff, to CIBC.
In March 2022, Little helped Cluff obtain a $225,000 mortgage on his company at the request of Schwitzer.
Cluff said in his complaint to CIBC that Little had framed herself to be a mortgage broker during the process, and as so, breaking the Mortgage Broker’s Act.
Justice Crerar found the complaint to be untrue, with evidence pointing to the fact that Little never posed as a mortgage broker. The Justice also said the complaint was filed likely as part of a coordinated effort with Schwitzer, with her starting to file her own complaints to CIBC about Little in February 2024.
“These events further set the table for the toxic tone of this litigation, continuing throughout the trial.”
Little is also currently in litigation with CIBC for what she is claiming is wrongful dismissal.
A grossly disproportionate amount of court time
The Justice awarded money to both parties by the end of the trial, but said the defendant was “largely succesful in her defence and counterclaim.”
Schwitzer was awarded $92,090 for her financial contributions to the business. She was also awarded $38,431 for her own work being a property manager for the locations totalling 1,702 hours of work.
In total, the Justice awarded Schwizter $130,521.
The defendant was awarded money on a number of claims as well, the largest amount being for Little’s claim of defamation. The court ordered $110,000 to go towards Little for Schwitzer’s actions in contributing to getting her former business partner fired from CIBC.
For expenses related to the properties – as the security measures and fees owed by Schwitzer to Little for living at the Breeze location – the court awarded another $18,645 to Little as well as for Schwitzer to return a cost order of $1,152 to Little awarded by a previous judge.
After all the money was calculated, Little was ordered to pay Schwitzer a total of $724.
In total, there were 212 registry filings, 75 affidavits, 107 further documents and 46 court orders generated from the case. The applications and trial time took a total of 85 hours, a time “so grossly disproportionate for the amounts and issues at stake that this litigation indeed verges on an abuse of process,” said Crerar.
Justice Crerar said that during the trial, both parties mentioned filing new actions against each other for defamation. While he said they are free to do so, he also urged them to “move on with their lives.”
“These parties ask taxpayers and other litigants to subsidise their vengeful airings of every petty grievance in proceedings protracted through their self-representation,” he said.