Allegedly unpaid invoices for renovation efforts at the University of Guelph have led to a $6.1 million lawsuit against the school.
In a statement of claim filed late last month, Mississauga-based M.J. Dixon Construction accuses the U of G of not living up to its part in a contract to renovate The Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology building at 50 College Ave. W., at the intersection of College Avenue and Smith Lane.
Only some of the $9.7 million project has been paid for at this point, despite the work being completed in 2021 – about a year after it was initially set to be done – the lawsuit claims.
“Dixon has demanded payment from the university and the university has failed or refused to make payment to Dixon thereby further breaching the contract,” the claim states. ”The labour, services, and materials were supplied by Dixon to improve the premises, at the request and for the direct benefit of the university.
"The university has been unjustly enriched to the detriment of Dixon.”
None of the allegations have been tested or proven in court and the university has not filed a statement of claim at this point.
A university spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations as the matter is in front of the courts.
There is no reason for the alleged lack of payment detailed within the statement of claim.
As explained in the lawsuit, Dixon was hired to renovate the building at 50 College Ave. W. and work began in those efforts in April of 2019. That work was to be substantially completed by June the next year.
However, there were delays and the project wasn’t finished until September 2021.
Though pandemic-related lockdowns and work stoppages were a contributing factor in that delay, Dixon also points to “numerous design changes, revised drawings, written and oral instructions, change orders, change directives and site inspections” from the university that resulted in extra work to be done, beyond the scope of the contract.
“At the time the contract was entered into, Dixon scheduled its work and arranged its supply of labour, equipment and materials in order to meet the specific contract requirements and the baseline project schedule,” the lawsuit states.
The construction company also says it encountered subsurface and concealed physical conditions which “differed materially from those indicated in the contract” and added to the delay.
“The delays and disruptions to its work as pleaded herein prevented Dixon from minimizing the time required to complete its work, maximizing the efficiency and productivity of work crews, and efficiently sequencing and performing its work,” the company claims.
“Dixon mitigated the delays, disruptions and impacts to its work, where possible, by performing its work out of sequence, by overlapping and stacking construction activities, and by accelerating its work. Dixon also increased its workforce on the project, extended work hours, introduced night shifts, and worked weekends to accelerate the performance of its work.”
