The Builders Lien Act

The Builders Lien Act

By far the worst Court of Queen’s Bench scams are Acts that allow the placing of a caveat on a house or property. The Builders Lien Act is one of the worst offenders and is viciously protected by dishonest lawyers and corrupt judges of The Court of Queen’s Bench.

The court scams are easy to spot as the Act does not allow the homeowner to proceed in small claims court or under part forty of the simplified rules. Any court action must proceed under the full rules of the court of Queen’s Bench. This and the placing of a caveat on the property leaves homeowners at a disadvantage. A homeowners liability is in most cases 10% of the cost of the building materials. It can cost the homeowner up to $15,000.00 in lawyer fees to proceed to court.

There are many scams that rely on the high cost of lawyer fees. It is not just the poor, middle class people are also being blackmailed. Who can afford to spend $15,000.00 in lawyers fees to save an amount that is within the provisions of the Small Claims Court.

All it takes is a dishonest building contractor and an employee of a building supplier who has access to charge sales invoices. In most cases where there is fraud involved the contractor will not finish the work and will abandon the building site before the work is completed. This leaves the homeowner looking for a new contractor. If the homeowner has taken out a mortgage to pay for the construction, the mortgage money will be in their lawyers trust account where the money will stay until the lien is vacated. This leaves the homeowner unable to borrow money to finish the construction and if there is no saving or RRSP and credit cards the only other option is to pay off the lien. If the lien is not paid out a Statement of Claim will be served on the homeowner claiming the full amount of the building materials and unjust enrichment.

The homeowner has thirty days to file a Statement of Defence. A Notice of Motion to vacate the lien can be filed at the same time. A lawyerless litigant has the advantage of having no lawyer fees. It is the building supplier that is going to be paying a lawyer $15,000.00 to recover 10% of the cost of the building materials. For about $100.00 the homeowner can have a lawyer review the pleading before they are filed.

I can help anyone in Saskatoon to prepare, serve, obtain and file documents. The price is right, free.