Julie Greenspoon

This decision addresses the costs of a motion brought by the Crown to strike parts of the plaintiff's statement of claim.

The Crown successfully argued that the Construction Lien Act did not apply to the Federal Crown or First Nation lands, and the plaintiff conceded these points.

However, the plaintiff was granted leave to amend its claim to include unjust enrichment and quantum meruit, which the Crown had opposed.

The court found that the plaintiff's initial untenable pleading and failure to respond to pre-motion correspondence precipitated the motion, warranting a costs award to the Crown.

However, the award was tempered because the plaintiff's earlier settlement proposal (to strike with leave to amend) was largely the outcome, and the Crown's opposition to the amendment was unsuccessful.

The Crown's travel disbursements were disallowed due to the missed settlement opportunity.

The plaintiff construction company sued a First Nation and the federal Crown for over $3.3 million for work performed on reserve lands, seeking a sale of the lands under the Construction Lien Act.

The Crown moved to strike the claim, arguing the Act does not apply to the federal Crown or reserve lands.

The plaintiff conceded this point but sought leave to amend its claim to plead unjust enrichment and quantum meruit.

The court struck the Construction Lien Act claims but granted the plaintiff leave to amend, finding the original facts pleaded supported the alternative restitutionary claims without running afoul of the Limitations Act.