Firm admits it 'under designed' Dieppe buildings in latest lawsuits alleging errors

A company owned by a suspended engineer admits it "under designed" two Dieppe buildings in response to lawsuits about the structures alleging errors that need costly repairs.

The lawsuits filed in March say Match Engineering provided structural designs for buildings on Champlain Street in Dieppe. That brings the number of lawsuits naming the Moncton firm, or its owner and sole director Hélène Thériault, to 10 since March 2024.

Thériault was suspended by the association that regulates the engineering profession in New Brunswick last May. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick cited "allegations of serious deficiencies in the design of multiple buildings, both constructed and under construction."

CBC News reported last year that a Halifax-based engineer reported Thériault to the association after being asked by a building owner to review a Dieppe building she designed. The engineer, John Richardson, told CBC News he visited or reviewed plans for multiple buildings she worked on, concluding some were at risk of collapse.

The issues Richardson described mainly related to concrete slabs over indoor parking spaces that hold up the rest of the structure. 

None have collapsed, and buildings with alleged design issues were temporarily stabilized as longer-term changes to the structures were installed.

The latest two cases were filed by 701047 N.B. Inc. and 339 Champlain Development Inc.

The two cases allege Match was negligent by preparing improper designs and failing to meet professional standards. The allegations haven't been tested in court.

"In or around late 2024, while construction was underway, the Plaintiff learned that there were errors in the structural design of the Building, requiring significant repair and remediation work," a statement of claim says about one of the buildings. 

That case about 339 Champlain St. alleges completion of the multi-storey mixed-use building was delayed about eight months. It alleges that's caused lost rental revenue and spending an estimated $1 million for "repair and remediation work."

The second case about 279 Champlain St., completed in 2022, alleges the building owner learned of "errors in the structural design" in late 2024 which required repair and remediation. The case says the work was scheduled to begin in April of this year, last about two months, and cost an estimated $350,000.

In both cases, documents filed in response to the lawsuits state, "Match acknowledges that it under designed certain structural elements of the project."

However, both statements of defence filed late last month say that if building owners suffered losses, it wasn't the fault of Match. Instead, the documents say that if there are losses, they are  the fault of contractors, building officials or others. 

"Match further states that if the Plaintiff suffered any loss or damages as alleged, that it failed to take appropriate steps to mitigate such loss or damage," the statements of defence in both cases say.