Bill 68 – An Act to promote Ontario as open for business by amending or repealing
certain Acts (the “Open for Business Act”)1 received Royal Assent on October 25,
2010. It is an omnibus Act which contains more than 100 amendments to existing
legislation spread out across 10 ministries.
Jameson House Properties Ltd. and Jameson House Ventures Ltd. (the Jameson Companies) were incorporated to develop a 37-storey mixed-use building in downtown Vancouver called Jameson House. By 2008, after many years of planning and development, the Jameson House project was well underway.
In Kerr Interior Systems Ltd., the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta discussed a number of issues which arose as a result of two creditors registering builders liens against a third party’s property in Saskatchewan.
On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Act) came into force with changes to insolvency law to help businesses manage the economic implications of Covid-19. The new Act’s permanent measure on continuing supply stands out for the construction industry.
On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Act) came into force with changes to insolvency law to help businesses manage the economic implications of Covid-19. The new Act’s permanent measure on continuing supply stands out for the construction industry.
On 26 June 2020, The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Act) became law, providing the UK (but with separate provisions for Northern Ireland) with temporary and permanent changes to insolvency law aimed at helping businesses manage the economic implications of COVID-19.
Of particular interest to the construction industry will be one of the new Act’s permanent measures relating to continuing supply.
The UK Supreme Court in Bresco Electrical Services Ltd (in liq) v Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical Ltd) [2020] UKSC 25 has decided that the adjudication regime for building disputes is not incompatible with the insolvency process.
The much anticipated Mainzeal judgment is released
Ebert Construction Limited v Sanson concerned the question of whether payments made by a third party under a 'direct agreement' to finance construction are payments made by the company in liquidation for the purposes of the insolvent transaction regime. Direct agreements are an agreement between the developer, builder and financier of a construction project. The agreement in this case obliged the financier to make progress payments directly to the builder throughout the duration of the project.
Sanson v Ebert Construction Limited [2015] NZHC 2402 concerned the successful application by liquidators to set aside payments made pursuant to a direct deed arrangement, as they were payments made on behalf of the insolvent developer. Sanson was the first New Zealand case where a liquidator has raised this argument but it is unlikely to be the last. Direct deeds are a common contractual tool in construction projects to give financiers the right to step into the place of the developer and directly arrange for payments to the contractor to ensure that t