The Alberta Court of Appeal has recently decided an interesting issue relating to the right of a supplier to a subcontractor to enforce payment against the general contractor. The supplier alleged that the contractor had promised to pay it in exchange for the supplier’s agreement not to register a construction or builder’s lien. In Sherwood […]

In the last two articles I have been considering the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Bhasin v. Hrynew. In its decision, the Supreme Court of Canada established two fundamental principles for the Canadian common law of contract. First, it is an “organizing principle” of contract law that the parties must perform […]

In my last article, I dealt with the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Bhasin v. Hrynew. In that decision, the Supreme Court of Canada established two fundamental principles for the Canadian common law of contract: First, that the parties are under a general obligation to perform contracts in good faith; and […]

In its recent decision in Bhasin v. Hrynew, the Supreme Court of Canada has established two fundamental principles for the Canadian common law of contract. First, parties are under a general obligation to perform contracts in good faith. Second, the parties have a duty to act honestly in the performance of contracts. These contractual obligations can […]

In Rankin Construction Inc. v. Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently made a number of significant rulings in a tender case. While the rulings were based upon the specific wording of the tender in that case, they were made in the context of a major Ontario highway tender and appear to have wider application. […]

One of the difficult issues in construction law is the duty owed, if any, by the owner’s consultant to the contractor. In particular, does the consultant owe any such duty in respect of subsurface conditions? In North Pacific Roadbuilders Ltd. v. Aecom Canada Ltd., the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench recently held that it did. […]

In Asco Construction Ltd. v. Epoxy Solutions Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal recently held that the doctrine of mistake did not apply to an invitation to tender. In doing so, the court provided a useful reminder of the limited circumstances in which the law of mistake can apply to building contracts. Background Asco was […]

The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Moly Corp. is a remarkable document. It is more than a judicial decision. It is literally a textbook or checklist for the interpretation of contracts and the review of arbitration decisions. Background First, the context. Creston agreed to pay Sattva a finder’s […]

The articles on this site have often alerted the readers to the hidden dangers of mediation and negotiation clauses in construction contracts. The principle danger is that these sorts of clauses may be unenforceable, for two reasons. The wording of the particular clause may be drafted in such a way as to create no enforceable […]