Construction & Engineering Law

Services

How We Can Help

We resolve claims and help determine liability, working with clients such as construction, engineering and architectural firms as well as insurers and industry organizations.

Service Areas

• Owner/contractor disputes regarding failure to pay invoices
• Defending architects, engineers and construction professionals accused of professional negligence
• Injunctions to stop specific activities on construction projects
• Insurance claims relating to property and equipment damage
• Handling disputes that arise over differential settlement (uneven sinking) of buildings
• Litigation to recover costs associated with delays
• Builders' liens
• Negotiating with municipalities and provincial governments in disputes involving regulations
• Representing owners and contractors when environmental and pollution issues arise during construction and engineering projects
  
• Representing clients with product liability issues
  
• Representing clients with building envelope issues
• Public Private Partnership (P3) contract negotiations for projects such as highways, hospitals, bridges and  transportation
• Working with quantity assessors to determine the value of the issues in dispute
• Retention of expert witnesses with engineering, architecture and construction and trade expertise

Typical situations where construction and engineering lawyers assist clients

• An engineering firm is accused of negligence in a bridge building project. Construction is delayed while the problem is fixed, adding thousands to the project's costs.
  
• A construction company receives shoddy lumber supplies and is unable to use them. Because of the delay, they lose a lucrative contract.
  
• An architect is asked to appear before an administrative tribunal after numerous client complain to a regulatory body about his business practices.
  

Innovation

Architecture

• Represented architects in the first leaky condominium case to proceed to a full trial, and successfully negotiated a discontinuance of the claims against an architect prior to the trial
• Represented a professional architect in an appeal hearing against the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and successfully overturned disciplinary findings
• Represented a local architectural firm at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and successfully protected it from being included in a case involving construction deficiencies in a large condo development
  

Engineering

• Successfully defended a local structural engineering firm in a case involving design and construction deficiencies within a school
• Represented a professional engineer in an appeal hearing against the Association of Professional Engineers of the Yukon and successfully overturned disciplinary findings

Construction and Sub-Trades

• Represented the City of Vancouver in a highly publicized injunction proceeding that arose from the installation of the curtain wall glass in one of Vancouver's tallest buildings
• Provided guidance to our clients in negotiations of a Public Private Partnership project contract for the construction of a major highway
  

News

Events