22/05/2025– Jurisdiction Ontario
Part 90 published on 01/06/2025
Court of Appeal upholds lien and condominium corporation’s resulting right of possession (failing payment of the lien)
The owners appealed from a judgment ordering them to vacate their unit (failing payment) and validating a lien registered for legal costs incurred after the owners had refused access for plumbing repairs.
The Court of Appeal upheld the lower Court decision, finding no merit in the appellants’ claims of judicial bias, evidentiary errors, or invalidity of the lien. However, the Court of Appeal did order an adjustment to the amount of the lien. The Court of Appeal said:
The trial judge observed that the appellants, who were self-represented, regrettably failed to appreciate the underlying basis for the lien, and more broadly, failed to understand and adhere to the rules and practices of litigation, requiring the expenditure of legal fees by the respondent, and resulting in a series of costs awards. These litigation costs, in turn, formed the basis for the lien. The respondent was entitled to enforce the lien and the trial judge committed no error in issuing an order to do so, subject only to the correction to the calculation of the lien set out above.
York Region Standard Condominium Corporation No. 972 v. Lee, 2025 ONCA 385 (CanLII), Lien