Cases - Shore v Horwitz Construction Co Ltd v Franki of Canada Ltd

Record details

Name

Shore v Horwitz Construction Co Ltd v Franki of Canada Ltd

Date

[1964]

Citation

S.C.R. 589

Keywords

Construction claim - loss and expense claim - damages - overheads - hiring charges - plant - ownership of plant - non-profit-making asset

Summary

This decision of the Canadian Supreme Court concerned a dispute with the defendant subcontractor for the driving of piles in relation to the construction of a government building. The piles were defective and the defendant had to carry out the works again. The claimant main contractor sought to recover damages in relation to additional overheads and the cost of idle plant during the four months that the project was in delay. The Supreme Court held that overheads were indeed recoverable, but hiring charges were only recoverable if the contractor did not own the plant; if it does, it should be treated as a non-profit-making asset (see Whittal Builders). (It is noteworthy that Judson J dissented, on the basis that the main contractor could not prove that it could have moved onto another job in the mean time. This appears to be a precondition to recovery.)