Corix Utilities Inc. and Corix Utilities (US) Inc. are suing EXP Services Inc. for breach of contract and negligence, claiming steam meters recommended by the engineering consulting firm were unsuitable for installation at three military bases in Alaska.
Corix filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on December 9. The Corix companies claim they were contracted to oversee the installation of utility metering infrastructure at the bases in 2007. At the time, according to the claim, “Corix did not have the knowledge or expertise required to carry out field assessments and determine the sizes required for the steam meters to be installed to complete the Steam Meter Work.”
Corix tapped EXP, which was then known as Enerplan Consultants, as a technical consultant because the defendant had expertise and had been involved in steam meter installation work at Canadian military bases, the claim says. In all, the plaintiffs were to supply 550 steam meters to be installed in two stages, the first 50 as a test to assess cost and performance in 2008, and the rest in 2009.
But Corix claims that some of the meters recommended by EXP were too small to handle steam loads and were damaged, needing to be repaired or replaced. In addition, EXP’s steam estimates were allegedly “substantially inaccurate” and “amounted to little more than guesswork,” the complaint states.
Corix seeks general and special damages, reimbursement of fees paid to EXP, and a declaration of indemnity from claims brought against Corix by either the original contractor or the U.S. Army.
None of the allegations has been proven in court, and EXP Services had not filed a response by press time.
