Owners and contractors defending against litigation from impecunious corporate plaintiff contractors or subcontractors should be aware of their ability to obtain security for costs, which guards against the real risk that they may be unable to recover costs from a plaintiff if they are successful in defeating an action.
In a recent decision, The Wallin Company Inc. v Knappett Projects Inc., 2026 BCSC 729 (“Wallin Company”), the BC Supreme Court applied the established test for security for costs and highlighted several evidentiary considerations relevant to obtaining an order for security for costs in the context of a builders lien action.
Background and Legal Test
The underlying issue in Wallin Company arose from an agreement between the plaintiff subcontractor The Wallin Company Inc. dba Zoom Painting (“Wallin”) and the defendant head contractor, Knappett Projects Inc. (“Knappett”) whereby Wallin was to provide painting materials and labour to Knappett for the construction of an
