While the legislature has not commented on the effect of COVID-19 on construction limitation periods, the Courts have tried to provide some direction as to how they would treat the lack of strict compliance with the otherwise truncated limitation periods in the Act.
In this case, the Court considers the importance of establishing a direct connection/chain between the party claiming a trust relationship and the party against whom trust obligations are imparted.
Despite its benefits, holdback has disadvantageous features to certain subcontractors in the context of larger-scale projects – early release assists with this problem.
Every industry has terminology or industry-specific knowledge that non-members of the industry do not think or know about. In the legal realm, I think this biggest non-industry piece of information is the difference between barristers and solicitors.
How do you lien when the price of services and materials is subject to a “costs-savings” provision? The Dominus v. H&W case discusses this conundrum.
What makes a good construction lawyer? While every lawyer needs to know the law, in order to be a good construction lawyer – it is quintessential to understand the industry and the inner workings of construction projects. Video games, like Minecraft, have the potential to provide people with a rudimentary or conceptual understanding of construction.
While the Construction Act grants significant protections to members of the construction industry, these rights must be exercised in a timely and diligent manner. The effects of failing to comply with limitation periods are devastating, such as the expiry of a lien.
In Ontario and other common-law jurisdictions, legal disputes are subject to what is known as an “adversarial” process. Many lawyers take this approach too close to heart. While lawyers may be skeptical of ADR, perhaps we should begin relationships with opposing counsel from a position of trust rather than combat.
How can a Subcontractor stop payments in wake of ongoing construction dispute? In realizing the fast-paced nature of the construction industry, the drafters the Construction Act, created a mechanism allowing Subcontractors to cease payment on a project without having to actually preserve a lien. Namely, a “Written Notice of Lien.”
Although construction lien proceedings do not extend the same rights as ordinary proceedings, the Construction Act allows claimants to demand information pursuant to Section 39. The Act extends a similar fact-finding ability to Owners/Contractors/other Defendants through a cross-examination of the lien claimant on the contents of their lien by way of Section 40.
