Mayor points finger at CAO after city lawyer’s blunder kills water-plant lawsuit

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This article was published 26/09/2017 (2944 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A city lawyer dropping the ball by failing to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on time is “disappointing” and “a glaring example” that Winnipeg’s administration needs to do a better job, Mayor Brian Bowman said Tuesday.

“It is disappointing to see a case of this magnitude dropped due to human error,” a statement from Bowman’s office said.

The lawsuit was filed over construction and other problems at the city’s water treatment plant. The city went to court in late 2015 against 10 companies over leaks, heaving roof, failing generators and explosions at its $300-million plant just east of Winnipeg.

The state-of-the-art facility — which opened in 2009 — upgraded Winnipeg’s water quality through the addition of several purification measures.

According to the lawsuit, some of the buildings began failing within three years due to what the city alleged were design deficiencies and structural problems.

The city had hoped to recover between $6 million and $20 million if the legal action succeeded, Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil said.

That hope was dashed when the companies pointed out the city failed to launch the lawsuit within a six-year time frame allowed for the legal action. The case was adjourned last week.

McNeil said the city’s lawyer didn’t check when the six-year period started and ended and is no longer on the city’s payroll.

The mayor isn’t impressed with the lawyer’s actions or how far along McNeil has gotten in his mandate to improve the city’s administration.

“The mayor believes this is inexcusable and has been advised by the city’s CAO that the individual was held to account and is no longer an employee of the City of Winnipeg,” the statement from his office said.

“The CAO was hired to effect positive change and while he has made progress to date, today is a glaring example that more work needs to be done.”

The treatment plant produces clean drinking water and the city plans to make repairs, although it must allocate funds for the work in future budgets, McNeil said.

— with files from Canadian Press

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca