Sudbury construction company, Ontario government embroiled in $20M lawsuit over Hwy. 69 widening
A Sudbury construction company is suing the Ontario government, arguing the contract it signed to expand part of Highway 69 incorrectly estimated the amount of rock that would be leftover at the end of the project.
The $20 million suit centres on whether the province incorrectly estimated the amount of rock, as Bot Construction claims, or whether the excess rock is a result of the way it was blasted, as the Ontario government claims.
Lawyers for the company argue the excess rock is a result of a design error, as well as errors estimating the extent to which crushed and broken rock takes up more volume than rock sitting in the bank.
Bot argues that its bid for the work was much lower than it should have been because of the errors. It said the amount of rock it had to deal with was "approximately 26 times more than was estimated."
"The plaintiffs’ position is that this case is fundamentally about whether two pieces of information provided by the defendant to bidders on the contract were incorrect and if so, was the price the plaintiffs’ bid for the contract artificially deflated by its reliance on that incorrect information," said a court transcript of the latest hearing on the case, released May 31.
In response, lawyers from the province said Bot is responsible for the excess rock because "of the way it conducted the work on the project."
"The defendant asserts that the source of the additional rock is the drilling and blasting techniques employed by the plaintiffs and its subcontractors," the transcript said.
"Specifically, one source of additional rock would be over-blasting by the plaintiffs: blasting beyond the design lines of the contract, also referred to as 'overbreak.' While over-blasting is permitted, disposal of any additional rock generated by over-blasting would be the responsibility of the plaintiffs."
The province argued that Bot should have to provide extensive documentation on their blasting techniques to determine whether that was the cause of the excess rock.
But Bot argued their case is based on arguments the information provided the province in the contract was incorrect, leading the company to bid too low. Specific blasting techniques, they argue, aren't relevant.
While largely finding for Bot, the judge in the case said the company had to say whether an expert report they had prepared would allow them to answer how much they would have bid on the contract at the time, if the alleged design errors had not been made.
"If the report did provide them with sufficient information/data to answer how they would have bid but for the design error, they must also answer that question," the judge ruled.
"If they do not have the data/ information to respond, they are not required to do so, because that would impose an undue burden of work."
Read the full transcript here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.