Project Disputes

Disputes for major projects have accelerated in parallel with rising global risk and uncertainty. In a progressively interconnected world, projects are vulnerable to borderless threats that arise months or years after inception. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, growing supply chain issues, inflation, labour and material shortages, combined with an increasingly difficult regulatory environment, are taking a toll on commercial projects. 

At McCarthy Tétrault, we go beyond traditional dispute resolution to provide strategic regulatory, tax, transactional, and corporate solutions to help you resolve difficult problems. As a go-to firm for project disputes, we offer you peace of mind in providing the very best legal counsel. 

Experienced counsel for your project dispute needs

Clients depend on our experienced legal professionals to handle highly sensitive project dispute matters, across Canada and around the world.

Quick and decisive action: We are solution providers. Our team acts quickly and decisively to enable you to mitigate risk early, stabilize distressed projects and resolve conflicts. Clients rely on us to navigate the significant risks associated with projects, including cost overages, project derailment, delays, distractions and reputational cost. 

Effective counsel regardless of your needs: We distinguish ourselves through our trial-tested and proven advocates. Committed to providing the most effective counsel for your needs, whether that requires trial, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, or a different approach entirely, our depth across the country is unparalleled in the market.

Cross-industry expertise: We understand the industries in which you operate, enabling us to deliver tailored solutions for your business. Our litigators have deep experience in resolving disputes across a wide range of industries, including construction, infrastructure, energy, mining, power, oil and gas, and transportation. 

We represent clients in both the public and private sectors, including owners, contractors and lenders in land development, energy, mining, construction, infrastructure and other industries; authorities and Crown agencies; Indigenous groups; municipalities; educational institutions; healthcare entities, and other broader public sector organizations. We provide counsel and representation in all manner of project-related disputes, including the following:

• Multi-party and multijurisdictional commercial contract disputes
• Construction, architectural, engineering and manufacturing defect and delay claims
• Public-private partnership (P3) disputes in respect of highways, rapid-transit including subways and light rail, social infrastructure including hospitals, courthouses and prisons, airports, schools and educational institutions
• Complex builders’ lien matters
• Regulatory and environmental matters

Representative Matters

• Acting for various P3 proponents on disputes related to major Canadian infrastructure projects, such as highways, hospitals, rapid transit and wastewater treatment plants
• Acting for a global leader in integrated facility management services in disputes involving alleged defects at a hospital project
• Acting for a real estate and investment company in a multi-million dollar dispute with its general contractor arising from defective work and breaches of contract at a high-end townhome project
• Representing a heavy industry subcontractor in dispute with a contractor in a confidential arbitration of delay and negligence claims related to a power infrastructure project in northern Ontario
• Acting for a manufacturer and supplier in a confidential accelerated arbitration related to the supply of light rail vehicles to a major urban public infrastructure project
• Acting for a design-builder in a confidential arbitration related to the construction of a public infrastructure project
• Defeating multiple breach of contract claims against a renewable energy power producer following an aborted property transaction