IAG
Insurance is getting back $16.9 million dollars from Invercargill City after
paying out for damage to the Southland Indoor Leisure Centre following a
catastrophic roof collapse in 2010.
The Leisure Centre roof collapsed in
September 2010 after heavy snow.
Engineering investigations found snow was not the cause of the collapse;
roof trusses were not welded correctly to specification and had been signed off
without proper checks. Leisure Centre
insurers IAG paid for the rebuild, then exercised its rights of subrogation to
sue the Council and the project engineer for negligence. Having paid on a claim, insurers have a legal
right to stand in the shoes of the insured client and exercise the client’s
legal right to sue any person responsible for the loss.
Invercargill’s massive indoor stadium was
built with local money. The High Court
was told concerns were raised during construction in 1999 that the roof trusses
were sagging. Remedial work was ordered. Evidence was given that the remedial work was
not properly carried out, the contract engineer signed off the work without
inspecting it and the Council issued a building code compliance certificate
without first getting all the necessary paper work. The Council’s building inspector didn’t agree
to the code compliance certificate being released. It appears a junior staff member expedited
the certificate’s release on her own initiative to enable a liquor licence application
to be made for the Leisure Centre.
Justice Dunningham ruled the Council was
negligent in issuing a compliance certificate for the roof truss repair when it
had no information before it to reasonably conclude the work complied with the
building code. Local engineer, Mr Tony
Major, was consulting engineer for the project.
He was held ninety per cent to blame for the consequent damage. Mr Major had primary responsibility to
monitor the remedial work, ensuring it complied with specifications and the
building code. Justice Dunningham said
Mr Major did not so much as undertake the monitoring negligently, he simply did
not undertake it at all, relying on the steel fabricator’s word that the work
was done correctly. Mr Major’s insurers
fronted with one million dollars as part compensation for the damage.
Southland
Indoor Leisure Centre v. Invercargill City – High Court (20.08.15)
15.090