International Construction Law Review
LOSSES DUE TO CONCURRENT CAUSES IN QUEBEC*
LOUIS-MICHEL TREMBLAY
Partner, Pouliot Mercure, g.p., Montreal, Canada
AND
ÉRIC COUTURE AND RONALD M AUCLAIR
Associates, Pouliot Mercure, g.p., Montreal, Canada
1. INTRODUCTION
There are few construction projects where the parties involved suffer no loss. Generally, when we broach the subject of losses suffered during the execution of construction work, we have an initial tendency to think of losses that could be suffered by the owner. However, many other participants involved in the construction project could suffer losses. Thus, the owner could suffer losses because of late delivery of the work such as project financing over a longer period than expected, lost leasing revenues, etc. Likewise, the general contractor and subcontractors could suffer additional costs, either because the owner decided to modify the plans and specifications, or due to defective plans and specifications prepared by the architects or engineers, or due to facts and causes attributable to the general contractor (to the detriment of one or several subcontractors) or attributable to one or more subcontractors (to the detriment of the general contractor or one or more subcontractors).
It should be noted that many lawsuits heard by the courts concern claims due to delays. This is understandable since the causes for lateness can often be attributed to more than one participant and consequently, more likely to be the subject of litigation. We can likewise think of damage to the work that can occur during construction, for instance, following a fire. In such a case, different participants can try to put the blame on others as to the exact cause of the fire and liability could be shared if more than one party was at fault. The problem of construction defects likewise generates an important number of lawsuits; liability for the damages caused by such defects can often be apportioned between several losses.
Thus, different types of losses can occur during the execution of a work; when the loss is attributable to a single party, there is no problem; it is, however, otherwise when many causes or many persons could be liable for the loss. The losses could be suffered by one of the participants in the construction or by a third party who is a stranger to the construction and can
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Losses Due to Concurrent Causes in Quebec
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