Legal Blog

Delay Claims & Notice

Newton Mechanical/Electrical Inc. v. NDL Construction Ltd. 2019 Man QB

The general claimed for delay against the sub. The contract had provisions that seem to indicate that it is CCA1 2008. SC 6.6.1 requires a party to give notice if that party intends to make a claim and SC 6.6.3 requires the party making a claim to give a detailed account of that claim within a reasonable time. The judge applied Corpex, Doyle, and Technicore and found that, when the general notified the sub of its lack of progress and that the general would be forwarding all costs for delay damages, that was sufficient notice for SC 6.6.1. However, the general did not give details of the claim until 6 months later and 1.25 months after substantial performance of the contract. That length of time was not reasonable and, accordingly, the judge held that the general had breached the provisions of SC 6.6.3 and was not entitled to make the claim.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.