Templeton Construction Ltd. v. Triumph Eastern Canada Ltd.

Templeton Construction Ltd. v. Triumph Eastern Canada Ltd.

The court held the plaintiffs had not satisfied the 'best efforts' standard for several undertaking requests and must conduct OCR searches, identify locations of responsive records, obtain specified non-party files, provide a supplemental damages brief and answers to outstanding undertakings within set timelines;...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2025 NSSC 416
Parties
Plaintiff: Templeton Construction Ltd.; Plaintiff: Templeton Properties Limited; Plaintiff: Anmet Holdings Limited; Defendant: Triumph Eastern Canada Ltd.; Defendant: Triumph Inc.; Defendant: Triumph Aluminum and Sheet Metal Inc.; Defendant: Lowe Engineering Services and Solutions; Defendant: Vern Lowe; Defendant: Mario Ribeiro; Defendant: Francisco Ribeiro; Third Party: Stantec Architecture Ltd.; Third Party: Exp Architects Inc.; Third Party: PJ’s Miracle Construction Ltd.; Third Party: Demetrios Kotsionis; Third Party: Aluminco Architectural Inc.
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
22 December 2025
Procedural Posture
Civil Case Construction Dispute; Production/discovery Motion / Case Management; Motion for Production Heard December 15, 2025; Decision December 22, 2025
Outcome
Motion granted in part and resolved in part; plaintiffs ordered to produce specified documents, answer undertakings and provide supplementary damages particulars within set timelines; costs awarded against plaintiffs.
Legal Topics
Production of Documents, Undertakings, Disclosure Obligations, Best Efforts Search, Ocr/document Search and Protocol, Privilege and Redaction
Source Language
english
Civil Procedure Discovery Construction Law Damages Case Management Production of Documents Undertakings Disclosure Obligations +3 more

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Parties

Templeton Construction Ltd.

Plaintiff

Templeton Properties Limited

Plaintiff

Anmet Holdings Limited

Plaintiff

Triumph Eastern Canada Ltd.

Defendant

Triumph Inc.

Defendant

Triumph Aluminum and Sheet Metal Inc.

Defendant

Lowe Engineering Services and Solutions

Defendant

Vern Lowe

Defendant

Mario Ribeiro

Defendant

Francisco Ribeiro

Defendant

Stantec Architecture Ltd.

Third Party

Exp Architects Inc.

Third Party

PJ’s Miracle Construction Ltd.

Third Party

Demetrios Kotsionis

Third Party

Aluminco Architectural Inc.

Third Party

Procedural Posture

Civil Case Construction Dispute; Production/discovery Motion / Case Management; Motion for Production Heard December 15, 2025; Decision December 22, 2025

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether plaintiffs must provide detailed answers to discovery undertakings and identify documentary locations rather than saying materials are 'in the productions'
  2. 2 Whether plaintiffs satisfied the 'best efforts' requirement to search for and produce responsive documents
  3. 3 Whether plaintiffs must provide OCR-searchable search guidance and identify locations of responsive documents

Ratio Decidendi

The court held the plaintiffs had not satisfied the 'best efforts' standard for several undertaking requests and must conduct OCR searches, identify locations of responsive records, obtain specified non-party files, provide a supplemental damages brief and answers to outstanding undertakings within set timelines; the case management judge may direct disclosure under Rule 15.07 and ordered productions and processes (including privilege redactions) with hard deadlines and prohibition on reliance at trial of documents found after the deadlines without consent or leave of the court.

Court Disposition

Motion granted in part and resolved in part; plaintiffs ordered to produce specified documents, answer undertakings and provide supplementary damages particulars within set timelines; costs awarded against plaintiffs.

Orders

  • Plaintiffs to deliver written requests to identified non-parties by December 31, 2025, authorizing production of complete file materials by the non-parties on or before January 31, 2026 and to provide a copy of that correspondence to defendants
  • Non-party materials received by plaintiffs to be reviewed by plaintiffs for solicitor-client privilege and any redactions identified and reasons provided by February 20, 2026; subject to privilege redactions, plaintiffs to provide unredacted copies of non-party materials to parties by February 20, 2026