Legal Blog

Warranty

2099082 Ontario Limited v. Varcon Construction Corporation 2020 Ont CA

The trial judge held that a subcontractor was not liable to the general contractor for allegedly deficient work. The trial judge held that the sub’s work was not deficient and that evidence of the general’s expert, who had opined on soil compaction without reviewing compaction reports, was of no use. The Court of Appeal held that this decision was unassailable and that it was the obligation of the general, not the sub, to obtain the compaction reports. The Court of Appeal then interpreted the warranty clause in the subcontract, which also referenced a warranty clause in the prime contract. It interpreted the clause to make the sub liable for its deficient work only and not the guarantor of all defects on the project, whether its own work has been defective or not. Accordingly, the court dismissed the general’s warranty counterclaim.

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