Not a legal opinion.
(
update April 3/20 :
Amidst covod-19 suspensions, lien challenger/lawyer XXX fails to get ONCA Ontario's Court of Appeal to postpone considering execution of July 2019 summary judgment rendered against him despite some interesting defence arguments last year. ONCA now orders owner/lawyer XXX's appeal to proceed by remote adjudication of written submissions. Carleton C.C. # 476 v Wong 2020 ONCA 244 issued April 3/20 http://canlii.ca/t/j6bsq )
* *
3 and a half years after Ottawa's
Carleton Condo Corporation C.C.C. # 476 filed a Statement of Claim to get payment of arrears or to exercise mortgagee remedies allowed by Ontario Condo Act 1998’s s 85 under a Lien for arrears issued Jan 31/14,
it finally gets summary judgment for action.
The judgment strikes down defences that
include claiming the Lien ( and therefor the drastic mortgagee remedies sought here & additional charges collectible ) is allegedly invalidated by “short notice” !
( ? Shockingly ? ) the defender is longtime owner Toronto lawyer XXX whose refusals to pay are said to have generated SIX previous LIENS onto title of his 7th floor unit.
It is /was a unit in a spartan-looking 9 storey building just west of “Mechanicsville” at 35 Holland Ave just south of Tunneys Pasture civil service complex. Now presumably it's more feasible to action the Lien amidst condo demand in gentrifying "Wellington West Village" etc
).
Justice Marc R. Labrosse strikes down lawyer–owner XXX‘s central objection alleging the Lien is invalidated by short-Notice to Owner.
Rules that the requirement is NOT ( TEN ) CLEAR DAYS separating mailing date & consequential date on which Lien would be earliest be filed if not pre-empted by full payments.
Ruling cites :
1 - express wording of
Condo Act 1998’s s 85 (4 )
Lien upon default 85
. .
Notice to owner(4)
At least 10 days before the day a certificate of lien is registered, the corporation shall give written notice of the lien to the owner whose unit is affected by the lien. 1998, c. 19, s. 85 (4); AND
2 - Mildly obscure
Legislation Act 2006 S.O. 2006 chapter 21 Schedule F ( section 89 )
Computation of time" . . . . . Number of days between events
(3) A reference to a number of days between two events excludes the day on which the first event happens and includes the day on which the second event happens,
even if the reference is to “at least”or “not less than” a number of days. "
( Note : It is theoretically possible that the narrower formula derived from the above - in certain cases - could actually allow the owner in arrears
MORE THAN 10 clear days for pre-empting the Lien . Respectfully it isn't necessarily anti-debtor, but this of course ain't legal advice either. Such interpretation better derives from a legislated source arguably few might have recognized before this recent judgment . . . )
Carleton C.C. # 476 v Wong 2019 ONSC 4207 issued July 10/19
http://canlii.ca/t/j1kbb 
