Toronto condo developer launches $10M lawsuit against online critics, alleging a 'malicious campaign'

A Canadian condo developer has launched a $10-million lawsuit against online critics whose videos complaining about two of the company’s newest projects have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media sites TikTok and RedNote.

In a statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court, Concord Adex alleges that the owners of the TikTok account @Sailor.of.Justice and a Chinese-language RedNote user known as Toronto Sailors Light the Lamp have conducted a “highly coordinated and malicious campaign to cause as much damage as possible” to the company’s reputation and sales.

Concord is separately suing more than 50 buyers for defaulting on agreements to purchase units in the two recently built condos in Toronto that feature in many of the online posts: the three-tower King’s Landing site on Esther Shiner Boulevard in North York and the twin-tower Canada House development on Concord Cityplace Way in downtown Toronto.

The developer’s lawsuit says that the social media users have intentionally interfered with Concord’s economic relations, alleging that their videos were posted “for the ulterior purpose of creating a false pretense” to get themselves and others out of their agreed deals.

The TikTok account’s most-watched video, which has been viewed close to 400,000 times, includes footage of floodwater gushing through a parking garage under Canada House, intercut with scenes of leaking ceilings, damaged flooring and bathroom clean-ups.

According to Concord’s legal filings, the video leaves viewers with the false impression that the company was responsible for the parking garage flood, when they say it was actually caused by a burst in the city’s water line. In addition, they say the video was filmed before any owners had moved into Canada House and that the damage was repaired before occupants arrived.

Other posts and comments by the TikTok and RedNote account holders falsely allege that Concord’s developments are poorly constructed, unsafe to live in and that the company was responsible for a gas explosion that interrupted construction of the King’s Landing project, Concord says.

According to reports at the time of the October 2025 explosion, seven people were taken to hospital. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour said in a statement to the Post that it could not provide any details as the investigation is ongoing.

The developer’s lawsuit takes issue with a total of 60 posts and comments made across the two accounts between July 2025 – soon after residents began occupying Canada House – and May 2026, a month after Concord received occupancy permits for the King’s Landing development. They include comments falsely implying that building inspectors had been bribed by Concord and a sarcastic reference wishing early death on a Concord representative with terminal cancer, the company alleges.

Alongside the unidentified TikTok user J. Doe 1, Concord’s claim names North York resident Yiwei Mao as the operator of the RedNote account, explaining that it was able to identify him through a Chinese court proceeding against the Shanghai-headquartered social media firm, whose users are predominantly based in China and southeast Asia.

Concord has launched a related action against TikTok’s Canadian subsidiary in the Ontario Superior Court, asking the social media giant to turn over user information for the Sailor of Justice account, including associated email addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses.

None of the allegations in Concord’s claim have been proven in court.

Neither Mao nor his lawyers replied to request for comment, but in a statement of defence filed in July, he denies the company’s allegations and asks the court to dismiss the claim.

Concord’s corporate entities cannot succeed with a defamation claim, Mao argues, for comments that refer solely to their individual officers, employees and lawyers – none of whom are named as plaintiffs. He also takes issue with Concord’s translation of his Chinese-language posts on RedNote, promising to provide his own versions before examinations for discovery.

In any case, Mao alleges that each of the posts are defensible, claiming that they are all either substantially true or were fair comment on matters of public interest.

“The words were published on the basis of an honest belief in the truth of the statements,” Mao’s defence continues.

Concord’s additional claims for intentional interference with economic relations and conspiracy are “dressed-up claims in defamation,” Mao says in his statement of defence, claiming they are “simply an attempt to stifle or muzzle the Defendant from exercising his right of free expression relating to matters of public interest.”

As part of its claim against Mao, Concord also seeks to retain $212,000 in deposits paid by Mao since he signed an agreement of purchase and sale (APS) for a $1.06-million unit in the King’s Landing development, back in December 2021.

Although Mao attended a pre-delivery inspection in April 2026, the company says he breached the agreement when he failed to close the deal as scheduled the following month. Concord’s claim demands damages to cover any loss in the unit’s value, as well as the marketing and carrying costs associated with the search for a fresh buyer.

In his statement of defence, Mao disputes the validity of the APS and says that the contract should be declared void. Mao alleges that he was rushed into signing the agreement and claims not to have received statutorily required disclosure documents at the time he signed.

He’s not the only one facing legal action over the failure to close a deal with Concord. Since February, Concord has filed more than 50 claims for breach of contract against buyers in its Canada House and King’s Landing projects, according to Ontario Superior Court records.

Like Mao, many of the buyers sued by Concord agreed to their purchases before the Toronto condo market crash. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average price of a unit in the city peaked in the first quarter of 2022, at around $810,000. Meanwhile, the most recent report – released in the spring of 2026 – pegged the average price at just below $650,000.

In a statement, Concord lawyer Brian Kolenda said he was limited on what he could say due to the litigation, but added that the company had taken “appropriate steps to safeguard its business and reputation” and to ensure a safe work environment for its employees.

“Concord is always prepared to receive and address fair and legitimate concerns from its customers. However, if social media is used to spread defamatory material about our business and employees, we will respond appropriately,” said Kolenda, a partner at Toronto law firm Lenczner Slaght LLP. “The anonymous online activity at issue in our litigation goes well beyond any kind of legitimate online expression.”

Iain MacKinnon, a media and defamation lawyer who has no involvement in the case, says Concord could have a tough time when it comes to the non-contractual elements of their claim.

“It’s typically an uphill battle for corporations to sue for defamation,” he says, explaining that compensation for hurt feelings, mental anguish or humiliation is not a realistic prospect for businesses in the same way as individual plaintiffs.

“Corporate plaintiffs can only really get damages for provable financial losses,” adds MacKinnon, the principal at Toronto’s MacKinnon Law PC.

He says he will be watching the case to see if Mao or his co-defendant attempts to have the case dismissed under Ontario’s anti-SLAPP law, which allows judges to screen out lawsuits that unduly chill expressions on matters of public interest.

“If there is a motion, a lot will turn on whether he has a valid defence,” MacKinnon says. “To me, the real question is whether this is intended to muzzle Mao and whether there is any validity to his claim that these condos are deficient in some way.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a terribly malicious campaign in the grand scheme of things, in terms of attacks on individuals. But it does appear to be somewhat relentless and that’s probably driving the condo company crazy.”

Special to National Post

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