No Excuse For Delay? You Risk Losing Your Lien And Being Left Unsecured

Getting to trial on construction matters can be a long and arduous journey, but the ability to place a lien charge on a property can provide the claimant with security through that process – or can it? In 1951789 Alberta Ltd v Britannia Block General Partnership Inc ("Britannia Block"),¹ Applications Judge J.R. Farrington of the Alberta Court of King's Bench (the "Court") rendered a decision that could impact how secure a lien actually remains over time.

Background of Britannia Block

The plaintiff placed a lien on the defendant's land and subsequently commenced an action and filed a certificate of lis pendens in June 2020.² In late July 2021, the defendant obtained a consent order to remove the lien and certificate of lis pendens in exchange for posting a bond as security in the amount of $1,595,842.50, as permitted by section 48 of the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act (the "PPCLA").³ The procedural record since the posting of the security is