Locking The War Chest: Certificates Of Pending Litigation In Modern Practice

Section 215 of British Columbia’s Land Title Act, RSBC 1996, c 250 (the LTA) permits a party who has commenced a legal proceeding and claims "an estate or interest in land" to register a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) against title to that land. Once registered, the CPL functions as a charge: it can dissuade third-party offers, impede refinancing, and block the closing of a sale. The CPL is, in the British Columbia Supreme Court's repeated phrasing, an "extraordinary and powerful pre-trial tool”.¹ This article examines how courts in the province are tightening the s. 215 pleading bar to prevent CPLs from being used as instruments of financial leverage.

1. The statutory framework and weaponized CPLs