Anthony Burden's client was the general contractor for two school construction projects in Alberta. Several construction liens were registered by various sub-contractors, creating additional expense for our client. The schools in question were designated as “municipal reserve” lands, which impacts what use can be made of the lands on sale.
Previous case law indicated that such lands could not be subject to forced sale and therefore construction liens on those lands were unenforceable.
Anthony advised his client not to make the payments on these liens. Instead, he recommended arguing that all construction liens registered on both projects were invalid - setting a precedent for future work. Several liens were withdrawn by consent as a result of our approach.
During this process, three lienholders disputed our interpretation, and a contested Court application was held to determine if these liens were valid. The Court accepted our interpretation of the law and held that the construction liens, in this case, were invalid.
The Court decision provided certainty to our client for this project and in the future that any lands designated as “municipal reserve” cannot be validly liened.
