On May 31, 2017, the Ontario Legislature gave first reading to Bill 142, which will enact the Construction Lien Amendment Act, 2017. By this legislation, substantial amendments are proposed to the Ontario Construction Lien Act, including the change of the name of the Act to the Construction Act. The text of Bill 142 may be […]

The United Kingdom Supreme Court recently considered the question of whether the performance standard or the design standard prescribed in the contract took precedence. In MT Hojgaard AS v E.ON Climate and Renewables UK Robin Rigg East Ltd & Anor [2017] UKSC 59, the court held that the performance requirement took precedence and that the […]

A subcontractor who fails to register a construction lien faces an uphill battle in asserting a claim in unjust enrichment against the owner. That is because the owner will rely upon its contract with the contractor for any benefit that the owner has obtained from the subcontractor’s work. The owner will also assert that there […]

Construction law practitioners must keep their eyes and ears open to the evolving case law in other areas of the law. That case law may have direct application to building contract issues. This fact is especially true for the assessment of damages. Because of the numerous contracts involved in a building project, a breach of […]

The Supreme Court of Canada has recently re-examined the issue of whether a statutory and contractual interpretation by an arbitral tribunal may be appealed. The court re-iterated the principle that arbitral awards are not appealable on a question of law when in reality the question is one of mixed fact and law. On this basis, […]

The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently allowed the appeal in the case of Ledore Investments Limited (Ross Steel Fabricators & Contractors) v. Ellis-Don Construction Ltd., 2017 ONCA 518. In doing so, it held that the arbitrator committed no reviewable error in deciding that the correspondence sent by Ellis-Don to its subcontractor did not amount […]

In the recent decision in R.P.M. Investment Corp. v. Lange, 2017 CarswellAlta 770, 2017 ABQB 305, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench held that a party to a contract may terminate a contract on the basis of a “fundamental breach” of the contract, in addition to the right to terminate the contract for repudiation. While […]

On March 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal from the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Valard Construction Ltd. v. Bird Construction Co., 2016 CarswellAlta 1584, 57 C.L.R. (4th) 171. This appeal will be of significance in determining the rights of contractors and subcontractors to receive, and the […]

On April 30, 2016, a Report was delivered to the Ontario Government proposing amendments to the Ontario Construction Lien Act. This report may, in whole or in part, soon be implemented by the Ontario Legislature. For this reason, those engaged in the construction industry or construction litigation in Ontario must immediately become familiar with the […]