Legal Blog

Joinder – Trust and Lien Claims

Devlan Construction Ltd. v. SRK Woodworking Inc. 2023 Ont SCJ (Div Ct)

The old Construction Lien Act had a provision (s. 50(2)) that prohibited a trust claim being joined with a lien claim. Another provision (s. 55(1)) provided that a plaintiff could join a lien claim with a claim for breach of contract. The Construction Act changes deleted these two provisions and enacted the equivalent of old s. 55(1) in the regulations. The Divisional Court held that had the legislature wanted to allow for the joinder of trust and lien claims, it would have said so in the Act or the regulations; it did not. The court held that a trust claim could therefore not be joined with an action enforcing a lien claim.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.