Anthony J. Imbesi

The moving party, a residential property owner, brought a motion under section 47 of the Construction Lien Act to discharge two construction liens registered against her property by a subcontractor and an equipment rental company.

The moving party argued the liens were out of time under the 45-day preservation deadline of the old Construction Lien Act.

The court dismissed the motion, finding triable issues regarding whether the old Act or the new Construction Act (with a 60-day deadline) applied, and when the lien claimants last supplied services and materials to the improvement.

The defendants brought an anti-SLAPP motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss a defamation claim arising from negative online reviews they posted about the plaintiffs' construction businesses.

The court found that while the reviews related to a matter of public interest, there were grounds to believe the defamation claim had substantial merit and the defences of justification and fair comment would fail, partly due to evidence of malice.

The court concluded the harm suffered by the plaintiffs outweighed the public interest in protecting the defendants' expression, which appeared motivated by an attempt to force a deposit refund.

The motion was dismissed.