The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently considered whether any appeal may be taken from a decision of an arbitral tribunal which is made prior to the final award. The Court held that no such appeal may be taken from such a decision, except if the decision amounts to a “final” order.  The decision appears [...]

When does the limitation period start for an arbitration claim?  Can the very making of the demand start the period running?  Yes, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently said in Federation Insurance Co. of Canada v. Markel Insurance Co of Canada. In so deciding, the Court of Appeal seems to have reached a conclusion which [...]

A very recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada has held that a court may properly dismiss an action arising from an international commercial agreement, even after the defendant has filed a Statement of Defence:  Momentous.ca Corp. v. Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball Ltd.  This decision is important since the contracts in issue [...]

Most standard form building contracts provide for the incorporation of the main contract into the subcontract.  For instance, GC 3.7.1 of the CCDC 2 Stipulated Price Contract requires the contractor to incorporate the terms of that contract into all agreements with subcontractors and suppliers.  But what effect does an Incorporation by Reference clause in the [...]

Arbitration and court proceedings may be different, but can a party substantially change its position when it appeals from an arbitration award to the court?  At the very least, it seems like questionable strategy to do so.  The British Columbia Court of Appeal held that the appellant could not do so in VIH Aviation Group [...]

In my article dated December 11, 2011, I reported on a decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court holding that demolition is not an “improvement” for the purposes of the B.C. Builders Lien Act (the Act).  That decision has since been reversed by the B.C. Court of Appeal.  It was not reversed on the merits, [...]

A party to a contract may terminate the contract and then start an arbitration to confirm the validity of the termination.  If the arbitral tribunal grants such a declaration, then that party better watch out that it doesn’t continue to treat the contract as still continuing.  If it does, it may waive the termination, and [...]

A recurring issue for construction and builders liens is whether the liens have priority over mortgage advances.  One question which does not often arise is:  what sort of payments by a mortgagee do constitute “advances” under a mortgage?  In other words, what sort of payments by a mortgagee can even qualify for priority over lien [...]

When a contractor pays money into court to discharge a lien of a sub-contractor, can that money only be used to discharge that lien holder’s claim?  Or is it available to pay the liens of all eventual lien holders?  In Canadian Western Bank v. 702348 Alberta Ltd., the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently decided [...]