Lien Entitlement: An "Overall Project" Perspective

A recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench provides a reminder that supplying work and materials to a project does not necessarily result in builders' lien rights. When assessing lien rights, the Court will consider contextual information, including details about the nature of the project. Does the project involve the construction of something on the lands, or is it a maintenance project? Such a distinction may dictate whether lien rights exist or not.

Court Decision

In Young EnergyServe Inc. v. LR Ltd., LR Processing Partnership ("EnergyServe"), the Court assessed whether a Contractor's builders' lien was valid.

The Contractor was retained to perform a turnaround project at a gas processing plant (the "Project"). In this case, the Project specifically involved cleaning, repairing, and relining the interior of all tanks and pressure vessels, and the repair or replacement of worn or faulty piping and pressure valves at the plant (the "Work").