J. McClelland

The plaintiff contractor brought a motion for summary judgment to perfect a construction lien for unpaid renovation work following a flood at the defendant's property.

The defendant homeowner argued the contracts were part of an insurance scheme and that work was incomplete or deficient.

The court found no genuine issue requiring a trial, rejecting the defendant's uncorroborated evidence and finding the plaintiff completed the contractual scope of work.

Summary judgment was granted in favour of the plaintiff for $79,329.10.

The self-represented defendant in a construction lien action moved to set aside a notice of discontinuance of his counterclaim, which had been filed by his former counsel over two years prior, and to compel further documentary production from the plaintiff.

The plaintiff opposed the motion and sought leave to bring a motion for summary judgment.

The court dismissed the defendant's motion, finding no inadvertence, mistake, or exceptional circumstances to justify setting aside the discontinuance, and concluding the requested documents were irrelevant to the lien action.

The court granted the plaintiff leave to bring a summary judgment motion, finding it would expedite the resolution of the remaining issues.

Schindler Elevator Corporation brought an action to perfect a construction lien for unpaid services and materials supplied for the installation of elevators at the Women's College Hospital redevelopment project.

The general contractor, Walsh Construction/Bondfield Partnership (WBP), counterclaimed for delay impact losses, liquidated damages, and indemnification for penalties, alleging Schindler's delayed performance critically impacted the project schedule.

The court found that while Schindler breached the subcontract by delayed performance, WBP failed to prove that Schindler's delays impacted the critical path of the project or caused the majority of the claimed damages.

Schindler was awarded judgment for the unpaid subcontract balance, less minor set-offs for direct impacts, and WBP's claims against Schindler and its surety, Zurich, were dismissed.

In a pre-trial motion regarding the admissibility of trial affidavit evidence, the moving party sought to strike the entirety of an affidavit.

The moving party argued the affidavit contained inadmissible, irrelevant, and opinion evidence without proper foundation.

The Master found that while the affiant had personal knowledge of certain communications, substantial portions of the affidavit lacked foundational knowledge or contained improper legal interpretation and argument.

The Master ordered specific paragraphs struck but admitted the remainder of the affidavit.