Construction Law

The Construction Industry in British Columbia has entered a period of rapid growth, and almost unprecedented prosperity. The 2010 Olympics coupled with other large scale infrastructure projects and a period of economic growth has lead to enormous opportunities for the Construction Industry.

Where there is opportunity there is also challenge. At Harper Grey our practice is focused on managing the risk side of the equation, allowing our clients to make the most of this dynamic period. Carefully crafted agreements, timely resolution of disputes, and well managed litigation contribute to our clients’ business success.

We work with a wide range of industries including:

• Design (Architects, Engineers)
• Transportation (highway/bridge design and construction)
• Pulp and Paper
• Residential and Commercial Construction
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Municipal Water Treatment
• Insurance

In instances where projects go sideways we act swiftly on behalf of our clients. The Construction Law Group at Harper Grey can help you develop pro-active and pragmatic solutions to protect your business and your projects in the most complex of cases.

Representative Experience

Harper Grey’s construction lawyers are actively involved everyday with the construction industry.  Our recent work has included:

• Representing architects and engineers in a variety of legal disputes including The Owners, Strata Plan NW3341 v. Canlan Ice Sports which was the first leaky condominium case to proceed to a full trial. We successfully negotiated a discontinuance of the claims advanced against his professional architect client in advance of the trial
• Acting as counsel and successfully defending a local structural engineering firm in a case involving design and construction deficiencies within a school
• Representing a professional architect in an appeal hearing against the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and successfully overturning disciplinary findings
• Representing a professional engineer in an appeal hearing against the Association of Professional Engineers of the Yukon and successfully overturning disciplinary findings
• Representing the City of Vancouver in a highly publicised injunction proceeding arising from the installation of the curtain wall glass in Vancouver's tallest building
• Providing guidance to our clients in negotiations of Design Build and Public Private Partnership project contracts
• Representing a local architectural firm and successfully arguing before the Supreme Court that the firm should not be added to ongoing legal proceedings relating to construction deficiencies within a large condominium development

Contact Person

For more information please contact the Chair of our Construction Practice Group, Chris Rusnak, at 604.895.2838 or crusnak@harpergrey.com.