More lawsuits against Moncton engineer over alleged building defects
CBC
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Four cases were filed in recent months alleging issues with buildings in Dieppe and Saint John.
The cases allege Hélène Thériault, or her firm Match Engineering, failed to properly design the structures.
The cases say temporary measures were put in place to ensure the safety of the buildings ahead of permanent changes to the structures.
Previous lawsuits were filed over buildings in Shediac, Miramichi and Dieppe. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick suspended Thériault's licence last year.
A Halifax-based engineer reported her 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 cases filed over recent months allege Thériault or her firm were negligent, causing losses building owners are seeking to recoup. The cases do not specify exact figures.
The allegations haven't been tested in court.
Match and Theriault have filed statements of defence in three of the four recent lawsuits.
A lawyer representing Thériault and her Moncton firm, where she was the sole director, did not respond to a request for comment. James Boudreau previously said neither he nor his client would comment while cases are ongoing.
In mid-December, Terrasses du Marché GP Inc. sued Match Engineering and Design Plus Architecture Inc., alleging flaws in the structure at 230 Champlain St. in Dieppe.
The lawsuit says Design Plus retained Match for the structural designs of the four-storey building with offices and residential units.
The case alleges that in June 2024, a consultant hired by the plaintiff discovered "structural deficiencies in the floor slabs on the second and third floors."
No statements of defence have been filed. Neither Design Plus nor a lawyer representing Match responded to emails seeking comment about the case.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.
A man in Saskatoon is in hospital after being shot by police as officers executed a warrant late Friday night.
RCMP say a man who was reported missing near Key First Nation has been found deceased.
Christy Morin says life was never the same in Alberta Avenue after the fires began.
It's small things, like a cigarette or a pair of clean socks, Rachel Montour says, that can go a long way to make you feel more human when you’re out on the street.
Several dozen members of Windsor's Chaldean community and its supporters celebrated in the cold at the corner of Marentette Avenue and Wyandotte Street East Friday, as city officials gave a secondary name to the section of Marentette between Wyandotte and Tuscarora Street: Chaldean Way.
Allison Hill says she tries to make people’s experience at the Thunder Bay Food Bank “as pleasant as possible.”
Two years after a man went missing in Scarborough, Toronto police are renewing the investigation in hopes that the public will bring forward more information.
A musical instrument created in Guelph, Ont., has been thrust onto the international stage — or rather, screen.
More than 1,000 Maritime Electric customers are without power after high winds blew across the Island Friday night into Saturday.
The Supreme Court of Canada is deliberating a case that could shape the way sentences are handed down in cases where both the offender and victim are Indigenous, which some Nunavut lawyers say could have ramifications for the Inuit-majority territory.