Alberta construction company owed $440K for work on the Leaf at Assiniboine Park: lawsuit

A company that helped build part of a major attraction at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park has filed a lawsuit to recover money it claims it's owed from unpaid invoices.

Ferguson Corporation, an Alberta company that was a subcontractor on the project to build the Leaf, an indoor horticultural attraction that opened at the park in late 2022, is seeking $441,918, plus interest, for unpaid invoices, according to the lawsuit.

Ferguson was contracted to supply and install the Leaf's exterior aluminum curtain wall system and the interior glass curtain wall system, says a statement of claim filed Oct. 18 in Manitoba Court of King's Bench.

Fergurson's suit names Bird Construction Group, the main contractor on the project, and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the non-profit corporation that manages the park, as defendants.

It comes after several other lawsuits filed by Assiniboine Park Conservancy and by contractors on the project since 2021.

Ferguson says in its court document that it was subcontracted in 2018 by Bird Construction Group and "supplied all of the products, materials, labour and related services required" under that subcontract, with invoices provided to Bird Construction.

The suit alleges that Bird and Assiniboine Park Conservancy have been unjustly enriched and "have knowingly and voluntarily retained the benefit of Ferguson's services without making payment in full" or any payment at all.

Neither Bird nor the conservancy have filed defence statements. The allegations in Ferguson's lawsuit have not been tested in court. 

Both defendants have previously filed their own lawsuits arising from the Leaf project, which are still before the court. 

The latest claim "is connected to ongoing and existing legal claims related to issues encountered during construction of The Leaf and disagreement between project team members regarding responsibility for the associated costs," Laura Cabak, Assiniboine Park Conservancy's communications and public relations manager, said in an email to CBC News.

The conservancy will have no further comment while the case is before the court, she said.

CBC reached out to Ferguson and Bird but did not receive a comment on the lawsuit.

The Leaf was completed in 2022 at a cost of $130 million, funded by private donations and all three levels of government. It was originally hoped to open in late 2020, and had an initial price tag of $75 million, but its construction faced delays.