Brent Harasym

The owners of a residential property brought a motion to declare a construction lien expired and to vacate its registration.

The general contractor had registered a lien for $201,356, claiming the last day of work was August 15, 2019.

The court found that the original renovation contract was terminated on June 16, 2019, and replaced with a new oral agreement.

The court further determined that the contractor abandoned the work under the new agreement on August 7, 2019.

Because the lien was registered more than 60 days after the abandonment, it had expired.

The motion was granted and the lien was ordered vacated.

The applicant municipality sought a declaration that the respondent developer did not hold an option to purchase a block of municipal land and an order deleting a Notice of Option to Purchase from title.

The court found that the respondent's purchase right was a personal right akin to a right of first refusal, not an equitable interest in land, because the municipality retained the right to determine if it required the land for its own purposes.

Although the respondent's interest was capable of being registered on title under the Land Titles Act, the specific Notice of Option to Purchase was ordered deleted because it gave notice of an interest the respondent did not possess.