Ontario Superior Court provides insight on the legal characterization of holdback amounts concerning a project on First Nations lands
Case commentary – Northwest Angle 33 First Nation. v. Razar Contracting Services Ltd.et al., 2023 ONSC 1233 A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has provided useful insight into how a trust claim under the Construction Act, […]
Construction lien claims: Takeaways from XPL Construction Solutions Inc. v. North Bay Capital Investments Ltd.
A January 2023 court decision from Ontario, XPL Construction Solutions Inc. v. North Bay Capital Investments Ltd., dealt with a motion by the Defendant, North Bay Capital Investments Ltd. (“North Bay”), seeking an order to, among other things, discharge a […]
Section 47 motions under Ontario’s lien legislation
A recent Ontario Superior Court decision from April 2022, Louis Jones Construction Ltd. v. Rocque, 2022 ONSC 2362, adds to the line of cases dealing with motions brought under Section 47 of Ontario’s construction lien legislation to discharge an expired lien. […]
Construction lien claims: Takeaways from Nova Concrete Inc. v. 2035211 Ontario Inc.
Introduction An April 2022 Ontario decision Nova Concrete Inc. v 2035211 Ontario Inc., 2022 ONSC 2391 (which involved cross-motions and various layers of relief sought by the parties) outlines the importance of: the summary nature of construction lien proceedings; the […]
Divisional Court’s strict enforcement of the prompt payment and adjudication regimes under the Construction Act (Ontario)
A recent decision from the Ontario Divisional Court suggests that applications for judicial review will likely fail when orders by an adjudicator under the Construction Act remain unpaid prior to an application for judicial review, and where no stay has […]
Can construction breach of trust and construction lien claims be joined?
Introduction Determining legislative intent – or, at a more basic level, the current state of the law – when interpreting a statute can be difficult. When reading certain provisions of a statute, steps should be taken to, among other things, […]
The importance of a corporation’s (active and good) corporate status at the time of preserving and perfecting a construction lien
A December 2021 Ontario court decision, 9727868 Canada Inc. (Plug & Play Solutions) v. Deltro Electric Ltd., 2021 ONSC 8182, serves as another chapter in a precautionary tale – there is little, if any, room for fairness or sympathy when […]
Legislative definitions and the relevance of a lien claimant’s status in the prosecution of the construction lien remedy
In an October 2021 Ontario Superior Court decision, Mahendran v. 9660143 Inc. et al. 2021 ONSC 6678, the Court ordered the discharge of a claim for lien in a situation where the lien claimant was held to be an owner […]
Rising construction costs as a result of COVID-19
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the construction industry as a whole. Backlogs in supply, commodity pricing, local market disruption, and an increase in demand and labour costs, have all resulted in a significant rise in construction […]
Landlords and tenants: Navigating leasehold interests, liens and the Construction Act
Changes to the Construction Act (formerly the Construction Lien Act) (the “Act”) include new provisions, which: expose a landlord’s interests in premises to liens arising from a tenant’s work where a landlord and tenant agree in a lease or any […]
