Understanding limitation periods are of crucial importance in the construction industry, particularly when a contractor is faced with unpaid invoices for services or materials rendered. The Ontario Court of Appeal stepped back into the spotlight in this regard with its decision in Thermal Exchange Service Inc. v Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation No. 1289, 2022 ONCA 186, in holding that a defendant's assurances may prolong the "discoverability" of a claim for non-payment.
Background
It is common for construction project owners to finance projects through multiple mortgages, especially in times of rising construction costs. However, when an insolvency situation arises, holdback priority claims from contractors and subcontractors are particularly complex when there are multiple building mortgages involved. The Ontario Superior Court (Commercial List) provided new clarity in this regard in its April 29, 2022 decision in BCIMC Construction Fund Corp. et al.
A bankruptcy discharge releases the debtor from pre-bankruptcy debts or liabilities. The purpose is to give the debtor a “fresh start” from excessive debts that cannot be repaid, except in certain situations such as where the debt arises from deceitful or fraudulent conduct. In Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission), the British Columbia Court of Appeal held that securities sanctions are excluded from bankruptcy discharge.
This article has been contributed by Martin Desrosiers and Julien Morissette, partner and associate respectively, in the Insolvency & Restructuring Group of
This article has been contributed to the blog by Ziyi Shi. Ziyi Shi is an associate cross-appointed to the Corporate Group and Insolvency and Restructuring Group of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
This article has been contributed to the blog by Joshua Hurwitz, an Associate of the Insolvency & Restructuring group at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and Jaime Auron, an Articling Student at Osle
This article has been contributed to the blog by Mary Paterson, Dave Rosenblat and Waleed Malik.
This article has been contributed by Julien Morissette, associate in the Insolvency & Restructuring and Litigation groups of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
This article has been contributed to the blog by Andrea Lockhart, an Associate in the Insolvency and Restructuring Group of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and Mary Angela Rowe, an Articling Stu
This article has been contributed to the blog by Patrick Riesterer and Waleed Malik.