Perini Pacific Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District

Perini Pacific Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District

Clause 6-04 of the contract bars the appellant's claimed damages for overhead caused by delay in completing the contract even if the delay was caused by the respondent, and the appellant also failed to prove attributable increased overhead; additionally the holdback claim was properly dismissed because payment was conditional on delivery of an unqualified release.

Citation
[1967] SCR 189
Parties
Plaintiff/appellant Contractor: Perini Pacific Limited; Defendant/respondent Owner: Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
24 January 1967
Procedural Posture
Contract / Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada From Court of Appeal for British Columbia
Outcome
Appeal dismissed with costs.
Legal Topics
Damages, Exclusion Clause, Delay, Measure of Damages, Holdback, Release
Source Language
English
Contract Construction Law Civil Procedure Damages Exclusion Clause Delay Measure of Damages Holdback +1 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 1 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 4
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Perini Pacific Limited

Plaintiff/appellant Contractor

Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District

Defendant/respondent Owner

Procedural Posture

Contract / Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada From Court of Appeal for British Columbia

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether clause 6-04 of the contract bars recovery of overhead and related damages for delay even if delay was caused by the owner
  2. 2 Whether calculating delay damages by averaging total project overhead over the entire construction period and multiplying by days of delay is an acceptable measure of damages
  3. 3 Whether the contractor's action to recover holdback moneys was premature because it delivered only a qualified release

Ratio Decidendi

Clause 6-04 of the contract bars the appellant's claimed damages for overhead caused by delay in completing the contract even if the delay was caused by the respondent, and the appellant also failed to prove attributable increased overhead; additionally the holdback claim was properly dismissed because payment was conditional on delivery of an unqualified release.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed with costs.
  • Holdback claim dismissed; claimant may bring new action when cause of action is complete if appropriate.