Summaries Sunday: Supreme Advocacy

On one Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe.

Summary of all appeals and leaves to appeal granted, so you know what the S.C.C. will soon be dealing with (September 11 – October 7, 2015 inclusive).

Appeals

Construction Law: Builder’s/Mechanic’s/Construction Liens
Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Ltd. v. Structal Heavy Steel, 2015 SCC 43 (35777)
Filing a lien does not affect a statutory trust; a lien bond secures a contractor’s or subcontractor’s lien claim rather than satisfying it through payment, and does not extinguish an owner’s or contractor’s obligations under a statutory trust.

Administrative Law/Public Utilities: “Prudent Investment Test”
ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. v. Alberta (Utilities Commission), 2015 SCC 45 (35624)
The Commission here was not statutorily bound to apply a particular methodology, and use of the word “prudent” in the legislation cannot by itself be read to impose on the Commission any specific no-hindsight methodology.

Administrative Law/Public Utilities: Rate-Setting Process
Ontario (Energy Board) v. Ontario Power Generation Inc., 2015 SCC 44 (35506)
The Board here did not act unreasonably in disallowing costs, and the Board did not act improperly in arguing the merits on appeal, nor did the arguments raised on appeal amount to impermissible “bootstrapping”.

Leaves to Appeal

Insurance: Construction Cleaning
Ledcor Construction Limited v. Northbridge Indemnity Insurance Company, 2015 ABCA 121 (36452)
Does construction cleaning insurance cover construction cleaning.