Lawyers for the companies that installed structural steel and support cables for BC Place Stadium's new roof are scheduled to face off in a 105-day trial beginning February 17 in BC Supreme Court.
French cable installer Freyssinet filed a claim against Quebec-based Canam Group (TSX:CAM) for breach of contract in October 2011, alleging Canam owed it $6.5 million. Freyssinet claims it was hired for $30.12 million.
Canam then brought a counterclaim against Freyssinet seeking $26.15 million in damages, blaming cost overruns on the French company's alleged breach of contract and negligence. According to the counterclaim, broken or failed equipment and materials, and disagreements over construction methods, caused chaos with the schedule and delayed installation of fabric for the retractable roof.
Canam revised its claim to $40.65 million last summer.
While the revamped stadium opened on time on September 30, 2011, crews scrambled to plug rainwater leaks throughout that fall and returned in the summer of 2012 for repairs and to replace some of the fabric panels.
Canam claimed in court documents that grease leaks from the cables, supplied by Geobrugg AG of Switzerland, caused $20 million of damage to the roof. Geobrugg, a third party to Canam's counterclaim, denied the leaks caused anything more than esthetic damage.
The trial, before Justice Gregory Bowden, begins less than two weeks before BC Place is scheduled to host the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks in the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on March 2. With breaks, hearings could stretch into November, when the 102nd Grey Cup is scheduled at BC Place.
The trial was originally slated to begin October 21, 2013, but was delayed to February 3 after mediation late last fall failed to resolve the issues. Earlier this month, Freyssinet, represented by Glen Boswall of Clark Wilson, asked for the further two-week extension. The matter is so complex and document-heavy that Canam lawyer Stuart Hankinson of Shapiro Hankinson and Knutson told Bowden during a case management hearing that computers, a printer, photocopier, scanner and Internet access would be required in the courtroom.
In January 2008, a year after the stadium's original air-supported fabric roof collapsed under snow, then-BC Pavilion Corp. chairman David Podmore said a $100 million replacement was being considered. A year later, the BC Liberal government announced a $365 million renovation that included the retractable roof. By October 2009, the budget had grown to $563 million. The government claimed in August 2012 that the final bill came in at $514 million.
The NDP has asked the province's auditor general to review this number and look into how the total expense had climbed from the original estimate of $100 million.
