Police HQ builder fires back at co-defendant in City of Winnipeg lawsuit

The contractor that built the downtown Winnipeg police headquarters says if the City of Winnipeg suffered losses on the $214-million construction project, it was in part because of the consultant's negligence.

Caspian Projects Inc. made the allegations on Aug. 1 in a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench cross-claim against Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd. (AAR) its co-defendant in a City of Winnipeg civil suit.

In May the city sued Caspian and AARfor damages resulting from their work on the police headquarters. In court documents, the city claimed more than 40 deficiencies werediscovered in the building after officersmoved into it two years ago.

It allegedthe problems included alack ofadequate fire protection, improper drainage and a deteriorating structural slab the city alleged wasn't addressed during the three-year construction project.

• City sues construction contractor Caspian, engineering firm over police headquarters

Both Caspian and AARhave denied any wrongdoing.

Two weeks ago,AAR filed its statement of defence and cross-claimagainst Caspian, asking the courts to hold Caspian responsible in the event a judge rules in the city's favour.

In response, Caspian isseeking compensation for damagesand court costs fromAAR.

• Winnipeg police HQ consultant denies wrongdoing, sues project builder
• Winnipeg police HQ contractor sues city for $7.9M, denies responsibility for problems with building