A recent decision by Justice Steel in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has brought some much-needed clarity for road building contractors seeking to uphold (or overturn) an interim-binding decision of a referee under MTO’s dispute resolution procedures.

Executive Alert:  Advocates LLP argues that Notice of Delay given now and tied to Ontario’s March 17 declaration of a State of Emergency and related MOH social distancing directives – may allow you access to a compensable delay, rather than merely an excusable delay.

A PDF copy of this article may be downloaded here.

Overview

read more →

Advocates LLP is proud to announce that associate lawyers Jeff Van Bakel and Kyle MacLean have joined the firm as partners.

Kyle began working with us at the end of
his articling year. Since then he has consistently demonstrated his growing
skills, aptitude for innovation and sound judgment while working with our team
on all

read more →

It is not uncommon to see invoices or purchase orders that provide for interest on overdue accounts at a rate of 2 per cent per month with nothing written about the rate of interest per year. The assumption being that anyone with a basic facility with arithmetic understands that this means that interest is payable

read more →

Introduction

The United States government, under the administration of Donald Trump, imposed tariffs on imports of Canadian steel and aluminum at the rate of 25% and 10% respectively, effective May 31, 2018. As a countermeasure, Canada’s Department of Finance intends to impose a reciprocal surtax (or analogous trade restrictive countermeasures) on imports of steel, aluminum,

read more →

Registering a construction lien against a property is a significant remedy that immediately triggers certain obligations and responsibilities for an owner. For that reason, the Construction Lien Act, 1990, c. C. 30 places an obligation on the party that is registering the lien to ensure the lien amount is accurate and not inflated.

A recent

read more →

The Construction Lien Amendment Act of Ontario (Bill 142) was given Royal Assent in December 2017. Among its many changes, it will introduce an adjudication process. The effective date of the necessary regulations allowing adjudication is currently set for late 2019. By that time, whether your contract includes adjudication procedures or not, these procedures will

read more →

In a decision released September 30, 2016, Master Wiebe has provided clarity with respect to the requirements for a valid Written Notice of Lien pursuant to section 24 of the Construction Lien Act (the “CLA”).

Those familiar with section 24 of the CLA will know that it is a powerful tool for unpaid parties to

read more →

Can you join an unjust enrichment claim with your construction lien claim in the same action? The Court of Appeal thinks not, though the Divisional Court was not so categorical.

You expect a construction lien action, by its very name, to assert a contractor/subcontractor’s statutory right, under the Construction Lien Act, to relief against an

read more →

Court Holds 45 Day Lien Period Can Be Met Despite Subcontractor Not Being on Site For More than 45 Days Due to Scheduled Winter Shut Down