Category: Construction

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When disputes arise on construction projects, a party sometimes withholds payment from another pending resolution.
The Builders Lien Act establishes mandatory deadlines for the filing of builders liens against title to land in British Columbia.
It is an unfortunately common story in construction litigation: parties agree on a scope of work and price, the scope of work changes and the parties don’t go back to the bargaining table to reach an agreement on the new scope of work.
Whenever parties fail to fully document the contractual agreement between them, the risk of litigation is heightened given the lack of prescribed remedies and consequences in addition to a wide spectrum of issues.
As discussed in my previous article, COVID-19, Builders Liens and Limitation Periods, since March 26, 2020, limitation periods in BC were suspended. This suspension was listed as of April 15, 2020 for builders lien issues.
As discussed in my previous articles, the Builders Lien Act creates extraordinary remedies and, as such, requires extraordinary attention be paid to complying with its requirements.
One of the most frequent types of construction disputes centers on what is owed vs. what is charged for work.
The COVID-19 virus has created uncertainty in the financing for many construction projects. The virus’s impact has caused some lenders to reassess project viability and, in some instances, withdraw financing before or after construction has commenced.
As the court observed in its recent decision, All Out Contracting Ltd. v Gourlay, 2020 BCSC 481 (CanLII) (“All Out”), construction work begins before the owner(s) and contractor properly define their contractual relationship, if they ever do so
One of the challenges in negligent construction disputes is that plaintiffs often start litigation only knowing something is wrong that needs to be fixed.
As many people may be aware, on March 26, 2020 the government of BC suspended limitation periods as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The British Columbia Law Institute released its “Consultation Paper on the Builders Lien Act.”
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