Alberta Court Clarifies Builders’ Lien Registration When Contract Abandoned

On February 25, 2015, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its decision in Tervita Corporation v. ConCreate USL (GP) Inc. In that case, the court was required to determine whether a builders' lien registered by Tervita Corporation (Tervita) was valid. In rendering its decision, the Court of Appeal answered two questions of interest to both contractors and owners:

1. If a contract is abandoned, when does the lien claimant's time to register its lien begin to run?
2. If a lien claimant loses its lien because it fails to register a certificate of lis pendens, can it register a second lien for the same work?

BACKGROUND

ConCreate USL (GP) Inc. (ConCreate) was the general contractor on a construction project and Tervita was one of its subcontractors. In April 2012, before Tervita completed its work, ConCreate went into receivership. The receiver blocked the subcontractors, including Tervita, from accessing the project site. For a time there was a possibility that the