Lien Claimants: Hurry Up + Set Your Matter Down For Trial

In Ontario, a lien claimant must bring its action to trial promptly. Further, even if two liens relate to the same project, one may not be enforced in the action of the other if the lands in question are different. In this case, NBL's lien claim (not set down for trial in time) could not be enforced under Corbiere's lien claim (set down for trial in time) because each lien connected to different lands, even though both lands were on the same project.

Section 37 of the Ontario Construction Act states that a perfected lien expires two years after the commencement of the action that perfected the lien, unless the matter is set down for trial or an order is made for the trial of an action in which the lien may be enforced. But can a lien arising from a project be enforced in a separate lien action arising from the same project? How does the wording of the Act factor into the analysis? And finally, how do similar provisions in Ontario's legislation and the Alberta PPCLA