Monette Farms Wins Appeal on BC Land

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- One of Canada's largest farm and ranch operations just saved itself $9.3 million after the Court of Appeal for British Columbia reversed a previous court order for the operation to pay $12 million in fees to a consultant, while the farm also looks to sell off tens of thousands of acres.

Last year the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that Saskatchewan-based Monette Farms, a then 350,000-acre business, owed fees to Vancouver Island businessman David Dutcyvich who introduced Monette Farms owner Darrel Monette to the owners of another cattle company from which Monette bought 45,000 acres.

There was a dispute about whether an oral agreement between Monette and Dutcyvich carried the full force of law, and the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that it did.

Earlier in January 2026, the court of appeal ruled that the B.C. Supreme Court committed several errors, including in how it calculated its award of $12 million in fees to Dutcyvich.

The appeal court instead ordered Monette to pay $2.7 million in fees, ruling the two parties never actually agreed to a fee amount.

"Though I accept that Mr. Dutcyvich understood that Mr. Monette had agreed to the $12 million, that does not mean that there was a meeting of the minds in respect of that term," Justice Heather MacNaughton wrote in the court's opinion.

"Evidence about the actual state of mind or subjective intention of the parties is irrelevant to the existence of a valid contract and its terms. I am of the view that there was no true agreement on the amount to be paid under the contract. The required certainty for an enforceable oral contract was not present in this case."

Dutcyvich introduced Monette to the owners of Blue Goose Cattle Company (BGCattle). Blue Goose Capital (BGCapital), which has substantial ranching interests in B.C., owned the shares of BGCattle; it sold them in 16 separate ranches in 21 locations in the B.C. interior to Monette in 2021. Dutcyvich claimed he helped assist Monette purchase those BGCattle shares.

Monette eventually finalized a $63 million deal for 45,000 acres in B.C. but denied that he owed a consulting fee to Dutcyvich.

According to court records Dutcyvich originally worked for another buyer, LBJ Capital, and negotiated the price for the land down from more than $100 million to $76 million. At the time, LBJ agreed to pay Dutcyvich $12 million but couldn't secure funding.

That's when the seller refused to deal with LBJ further. Monette, according to court records, then approached Dutcyvich in early March 2021 to complete a deal himself. Following the competition of the purchase, Dutcyvich was not paid for his services.

The appeal court based the actual amount of the fees owed by Monette to Dutcyvich on what the court said was three months of "lighter" work Dutcyvich conducted.

The court was critical of the B.C. Supreme Court's use of email exchanges between Monette and Dutcyvich, who operated 3LD Consulting Inc.

"In my respectful view, the trial judge drew inferences from the emails which were not open to her on the evidence," the appeal court said.

"On a plain reading, and in their totality, the March 16, 2021, emails do not confirm that Mr. Monette (or MFL) agreed to pay Mr. Dutcyvich (or 3LD) $12 million for their services. In fact, they confirm that the obligation for making such a payment was LBJ's."

The appeal court said when the emails are read together it shows that Monette "was surprised" at what LBJ agreed to pay Dutcyvich and "did nothing further about it when LBJ said it would be responsible for the payment."

In addition, Monette Farms currently plans to auction off 12 different ranches in southern B.C. on March 3, 2026, according to Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. Read about it here: https://www.rbauction.com/….

The majority of the more than 45,000 acres up for sale are in Mile House, B.C., with the remaining acres in Lilliooet, Bridge Lake, Williams Lake and Cache Creek in B.C. It's not clear whether any of the ranches bought by Monette from Blue Goose Capital are part of the sale.

According to court documents, Monette bought his first quarter of land in 2004 and incorporated it in 2009 as Monette Farms. He is the CEO and principal of Monette Farms. By 2016 he diversified the company which produces grains, pulses, beef, seeds and produce in different locations.

By the fall of 2020, Monette Farms had up to 450 people working for it operationally and 55,000 seeded acres. Based in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Monette Farms is now a large ranching and agricultural corporation operating in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.

Monette began expanding into the U.S. under Monette Farms USA Inc. in 2019, in Havre, Montana. Since then, the company expanded its ownership of farming and ranching operations in the U.S. to Billings, Montana, as well as Tonopah, Arizona.

Read more on DTN:

"Judge: Monette Farms Owner to Pay $12M," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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