It is now common for the parties to a construction contract to resolve their disputes by arbitration. Arbitration is a private binding dispute resolution method in which the parties have the flexibility to tailor the proceeding for the resolution of the matter including choosing the person that will decide the matter (the arbitrator) and the rules governing the proceeding.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection September 2024 Newsletter and VICA’s e-New.
In the recent case of Hi-Tide Shoring & Foundation (2012) Ltd. v Chandos Construction Ltd., the British Columbia Supreme Court considered whether a sub-subcontractor on a construction project may claim a holdback lien against the holdbacks held up the construction chain or was limited to claiming against the holdback that relates to the sub-subcontractor’s own contract. The Court said that subcontractors may claim against holdbacks retained at each level of the construction chain up to the holdback retained by the owner. However, when it comes time to determine how much the subcontractor is paid for that claim of lien, section 34 of the Builders Lien Act may limit the amount the lien claimants may recover through such claims.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection June 2024 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
Pandemic-related debt, high interest rates, high energy costs, shortages of labour and rising costs of equipment and materials could all contribute to a rise in the number of insolvencies in the construction industry. A contractor becoming insolvent can have a number of impacts on both the project owner, the subcontractors and suppliers. This article discusses a particular issue related to a contractor becoming insolvent after subcontractors have filed builders liens against the project property.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection February 2024 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
The lingering effects of the 2020 pandemic on supply chain and more recent inflationary pressures on price certainty may motivate contractors and owners to make advance purchase of high volume or high costs items before construction activities commence on-site. This article describes the basic legal principles governing the determination of ownership in construction contracts with respect to materials, which principles can guide parties when making contractual arrangements that are out of the ordinary involving advance purchase and/or temporary off-site storage.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection October 2023 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
Participation in a tendering process may require contractors to expend significant effort and incur costs to prepare their bids, obtain bid security, hold their pricing for a specified period of time, and be bound by the terms of the construction contract. While contractors assume these risks without any promise of being awarded the construction contract, they do have an expectation that their bids will be taken seriously and that they, and their competitors, will be treated equally and fairly. This is the legal construct that Canadian courts seek to uphold in an effort to preserve the integrity of the tendering process. This article discusses how the Canadian courts have responded when such expectations are not maintained.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection June 2023 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
One of the frequent issues that comes before courts in the tendering context is whether a tender bid is compliant with the tender documents. There are considerable legal implications arising from a determination that a bid is not compliant.
While in other business contractual relationships an irregularity in the contract documents may be reasonably ignored by the parties, in the tendering context irregularities have greater significance due to the unique legal framework of tendering. In order to uphold the fairness and integrity of the tendering process the law requires that only compliant bids be considered for award. In this article, we discuss the general principles that apply in a compliance assessment.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection June 2022 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.