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Liens, Excessive

Petrelli Construction & Renovation Inc. v. Phillips 2016 Ont SCJ

Corporate lien claimant abandoned action. Judge awarded costs against corporation and against the corporation’s sole shareholder and director under section 86 of the Construction Lien Act. The director was held liable for an exaggerated or excessive lien because, even if he originally thought there were grounds for the validity of the lien, he should have realised that he lacked the capacity to prove it or bring the matter to trial. The lawyer for the lien claimant was held not to be liable for costs because the evidence did not indicate that he ought to have known that the lien was without foundation and, in any case, there was no evidence that he acted in bad faith, maliciously, or negligently. Nothing was ordered under section 35 because the owners did not provide evidence of damages.

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