Judge rejects request for shortcut in lawsuit over crane felled by storm Dorian

It's been more than four years since post-tropical storm Dorian blew through Nova Scotia, leaving a path of destruction including — most notably — a toppled construction crane.

The collapse touched off a lawsuit that is still dragging through the Nova Scotia court system.

And this week, a justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court rejected a bid by Halifax-based developer Fares Construction, the company behind the lawsuit, to allow some shortcuts.

Lead Structural Formwork, which owned the crane, is the main defendant.

In his ruling, Justice Scott Norton rejected the request from Fares for a summary judgment, which would allow for a ruling without a trial. He questioned the arguments advanced by the developer.

"The plaintiffs did not put forward any evidence as to the cause of the crane collapse," Norton wrote.

"The plaintiff led no direct evidence as to the alleged acts said to be negligent or a breach of contract.  The plaintiff filed no expert evidence as to the cause of the collapse of the tower crane."

In their defence, Lead Structural Formwork wrote that they were aware of the weather conditions forecast for Sept. 7, 2019, and "took all recommended measures to prepare the crane for those conditions."

An investigation by the provincial Labour Department determined that the collapse was due to a welding failure. No one was injured in the incident.

Norton concluded his decision by saying that granting a summary judgment in this case would be "against the interest of justice."

The way is now cleared for the lengthy pre-trial process to continue.

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