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New Phase of the E-filing Pilot and Perfection of Claims for Lien

Publication

In order to perfect a claim for lien, a lien claimant must issue a statement of claim and certificate of action, following which the certificate of action must be registered on title.

Prior to March 23, 2020, parties were required to attend the courthouses in person to issue a statement of claim and certificate of action. In the event that the property was located in another jurisdiction, counsel for lien claimants were required to plan ahead in order to allow timely delivery of the documents and court fees to the appropriate jurisdiction, issuance of the statement of claim and certificate of action and prompt receipt of the issued documents in order to register the certificate of action on title.

On March 23, 2020, the Ministry of the Attorney General launched a new phase of the e-filing pilot, which now allows parties and litigants to issue Certificates of Action, among other Court documents, electronically, a feature which was not available before.

Parties are strongly encouraged to use Civil Claims Online to issue statements of claim and certificates of action and to receive electronically issued documents in Superior Court of Justice civil actions as follows:

  1. Access Civil Claims Online at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/file-civil-claim-online.
  2. Start the process by issuing a Statement of Claim.
  3. The last step in the issuance process will allow parties to upload both the statement of claim and certificate of action.
  4. Upon payment of the court fees (parties will be charged one fee of $359.00 for both the statement of claim and certificate of action) parties will receive an email from Civil Claims Online enclosing both the issued statement of claim and certificate of action. Both issued documents will have an electronically populated court file number and electronic court seal. No court attendance is required.
  5. Once the statement of claim and certificate of action have been issued, parties may proceed to register the electronically issued certificate of action on title.

It is important to note that in the event that the construction lien has been vacated prior to the issuance of the statement of claim, no certificate of action is required to be issued and registered on title.