Construction Law – Construction Liens – Trust Fund Provisions The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently considered some interesting issues relating to the trust fund provisions of the Construction Lien Act of Ontario.  In Colautti Construction Ltd. v. Ashcroft Development Inc, the Court provided some useful guidance about the roles of owners and contractors in […]

Construction Lien Claims  –  Pre-Incorporation Contracts What happens when a pre-incorporation construction contract is made in the name of a company which does not do the work, and then the construction lien is filed in the name of the company that was later incorporated and did the work?  That was the situation faced by the […]

The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently considered the constitutional limits of the Builders Lien Act of that province.  In Vancouver International Airport Authority v. British Columbia, the Court held that the Act did not apply to the leasehold interest of the Vancouver International Airport Authority.  The Court drew the constitutional boundary based upon the […]

In John Barlot Architect Ltd. v. 413481 Alberta Ltd, the Alberta Court of Appeal has recently dealt with two thorny issues relating to a consultant’s services and construction liens: Can a lien shelter non-lienable work?  And can a consultant’s services provided to one project be liened on a second project if they were also used […]

The Trust Fund Provisions of the Construction Lien Act (Ontario):   New developments relating to Suppliers and Third Parties By Thomas G. Heintzman O.C, Q.C. and Mekhriban Mamedova[1]    6th Annual Current Issues in Commercial Litigation: Hamilton Law Association; March 2, 2011 1.            Introduction             The Construction Lien Act looks like a formidable statute to most […]

Unjust Enrichment–Construction lien action:  A supplier cannot assert an unjust enrichment claim against an owner, particularly if the contractor has asserted a construction lien claim.  The contract between the owner and the contractor is a juristic reason for the unjust enrichment claim being disallowed, and the absence of any dealings between the owner and the […]

Unjust Enrichment-Construction lien action:  If a construction lien claim is struck down because the claim does not meet the technical requirements of the Construction Lien Act, a personal claim in unjust enrichment may be made if it arises out of the same circumstances as the lien: Juddav Designs Inc. v. Cosgriffe, 2010 ONSC 6597

Construction Lien Act- Date of last supply of services or material: Repair or deficiency work will not extend the 45 day period under s. 31 of the Ontario Act for the registration of the lien, even if the repair work arises from external forces such as weather: Vaughan-Scape v. Watermark Developments, 2010 ONSC 1365. See

Construction Lien Act – Date of last supply of services and materials: The attendance by a paving reinforcement subcontractor at an off-site meeting to deal with the claim of that subcontractor and the main contractor does not amount to the supply of services and does not extend the lien period: Hugormark v. HMTQ, 2010 ONSC […]