The Leaf mired in lawsuits

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This article was published 24/12/2024 (306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The legal saga over the construction of The Leaf in Assiniboine Park has taken yet another turn.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy has filed another lawsuit in relation to the $130-million replacement to the decades-old conservatory. The Leaf opened December 2022 — two years late due in large part to problems with its iconic translucent roof.

The latest statement of claim was filed in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Dec. 13 in relation to a flood that damaged the third floor of The Leaf shortly after the attraction opened.

The conservancy alleges the flood was due to shoddy heating, ventilation and air conditioning work by KPMB Architects and its various partners, plus Bird Construction Group, Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd., SMS Engineering Ltd., Introba Canada LLP, Architecture49 Inc., and T&D Enterprises.

Previous lawsuits and counter-suits filed by contractors and the conservancy were related to the construction of The Leaf’s roof and the project overall.

Construction began in 2017-18 and was suspended in June 2019. Remedial work didn’t start until Aug. 31, 2020. Throughout construction, the cost ballooned from the original $75 million price tag.

The building features four biomes that showcase plants from around the world, including a butterfly biome in which exotic butterflies flit around visitors.

Bird was the general contractor and construction manager, while Architecture49 was the designer and KPMB a consultant. The three firms hired the balance of the remaining defendants as contractors or subcontractors.

None has filed statements of defence in response to the new claim.

The new lawsuit alleges that a water-based cooling coil cracked due to freezing on Christmas Eve 2022, the second month The Leaf was open, resulting in a burst pipe and “extensive water damage.”

The coil was part of a heat recovery unit on the building’s third floor. The unit required outside air to be brought in through dampers, or valves. The conservancy alleges the failure was due to faulty design and installation of the coil, the unit and the dampers on the part of the defendants.

The conservancy alleges the work was shoddy and constitutes breach of duty and contract and negligence.

The conservancy claims it has had to cover the cost of investigating the damage, emergency and permanent repairs to the third-floor HVAC and building overall, cleaning and restoration, engineering and consulting fees, increased insurance costs and a loss of business income, among.

The Dec. 13 lawsuit does not include a dollar figure.

The second-most recent lawsuit was filed in October. Ferguson Corp., an Alberta company that specializes in building exteriors, alleged it is owed more than $440,000 by Bird and the conservancy for the work it did on behalf of Bird.

In 2021, the conservancy sued Architecture49 Inc., KPMB Architects and engineering firm Blackwell Bowick Partnership in relation to design defects in the roof which it claims delayed the opening and spiked costs.

In a separate lawsuit, it sued its insurer, Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Co., alleging it wrongly rejected a claim for roof-defect compensation. Supreme Steel alleged in a claim against Bird Construction that it was owed $821,978 for steel fabrication and construction work.

In Oct. 2022, Architecture49 Inc. sued the conservancy, claiming it was still owed almost $1 million for work it did to fix the alleged construction flaws made by subcontractors. The court documents stated the conservancy had said it would pay nothing beyond the initial fixed fee of almost $5.9 million.

Last year, Bird Construction Group launched a $16.8-million lawsuit against both the conservancy and the City of Winnipeg for breach of contract and misrepresenting parts of the project.

The conservancy has since filed a statement of defence and counterclaim that alleges Bird represented itself as experienced and knowledgeable enough to build the project and it is responsible for any problems related to its subcontractors.

The conservancy claims that, if the project wasn’t near completion by August 2020, it could deduct up to $2.737 million from Bird’s fee.

The matters are still before the courts, though some of the lawsuits have been consolidated into one action.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca