Government, Norcope reach an out-of-court settlement
Norcope Construction Group and the Yukon government have settled the major question in a dispute over work at the new Whistle Bend subdivision, the Star has learned.
Norcope Construction Group and the Yukon government have settled the major question in a dispute over work at the new Whistle Bend subdivision, the Star has learned.
A confidential, out-of-court settlement has been reached between the two sides regarding whether the government breached the $15.9-million development contract award to Norcope when it gave $2.1 million worth of work to Sidhu Contracting.
Pat Molloy, the government's director of land development , said he cannot comment on any specifics of the deal, including whether any money changed hands.
The lawsuit was filed by Norcope in June 2011.
The company claimed the smaller contract should have been added as an extra to the $15.9-million contract Norcope was awarded in March for the installation of water, sewer and utility lines in Whistle Bend.
The suit claims the government failed to negotiate in good faith with Norcope to arrive at an agreeable price for the additional work and instead sole-sourced the contract to Sidhu Trucking.
To protest giving the work to Sidhu, Norcope drove several pieces of heavy equipment from the Whistle Bend site to the main government administration building last June 8.
The dispute caught the attention of other companies in the city and opposition MLAs who were critical of the government for sole-sourcing the contract to Sidhu. Some suggested it was of such significance that it should be part of a public tender.
After court appearances on the issue, the question of whether the government violated contract law was scheduled for a four-day trial next week.
Sidhu has already completed the contract.
When setting the trial date, Justice Ron Veale reminded the lawyers — both from Vancouver — that spending time in court could become overtly expensive for both the company and Yukon taxpayers.
Last December, a government spokesperson said it was too early to say whether the cost of the legal dispute will be attached to Whistle Bend lot prices.
Molloy said there are still other issues to be resolved in the case but both sides have agreed to attempt to solve them outside of court.
Norcope owner Doug Gonder could not be reached in time for this afternoon's press deadline.
Comments (2)
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Matthew Sills on Mar 5, 2012 at 9:45 am
Confidential out of court settlement usually means that someone is embarassed and in return for payment requires that the other guy stays mute about the deal. Doug is correct that we should have a reasonable expectation of disclosure and accountability if the settlement involved the expenditure of public funds, which assumes that the govey rolled over and paid. If that is the case, its like paying hush money.
Consider the alternative... maybe the govey was winning and the "complainant" said okay I give, I'll cover your court and legal costs, but nobody talks about it.
Too bad they can't give us a hint, along the lines of... Which party insisted that the settlement be confidential. That would certainly point us in the right direction.
It really is annoying that after all the foofarah last summer, that we, the long suffering public, get no closure on this gripping piece of front page drama. OMG.....I need a life!
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Doug Rutherford on Mar 4, 2012 at 8:29 am
So, why would a settlement involving public funds not be publicly open? It's our money and we have the right to know how the government is spending it.