Rocky Mountain Court parkade failure leads to 'landmark' court decision

A provincial court judge ruled Monday that Williams Engineering Canada Inc. breached Alberta's Building Code during repairs conducted on the parkade of Calgary's Rocky Mountain Court building in 2011.

City officials temporarily ordered residents out of the lower levels of Rocky Mountain Court in July 2012 after an inspection of the parkade's second level found its integrity was compromised during renovations.

The City of Calgary announced four companies and the condominium's owners were charged with several infractions under Alberta's Building Code a few months later. The owners were also facing several lawsuits.

"This is a landmark ruling because it appears to be the first time in Canada that an engineering firm has been convicted for breaching provincial Building Codes legislation," said the city in a release.

The city says Calgary appears to be one of the only jurisdictions in Canada to actively prosecute Building Code cases, and says it has been successful in obtaining significant fines.

Provincial Court Judge Heather Lamoureux said in her ruling Monday that Williams Engineering breached its Building Code obligations by "undermining the structural stability of the parkade and causing an unsafe condition."

“Today’s ruling sends a clear message," said city prosecutor Ola Malik. "Engineering firms, like other parties who are involved at the various stages of a construction project, have independent obligations to satisfy in the design and execution of a construction project."

He says Calgary has become a national leader in building safety after the creation of the city's Safety Reponses Unit (SRU), which was created in 2009.

Rocky Mountain Court residents were once again allowed to park in the downtown condo building in June 2013 after it was deemed safe.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for later this year.