The respondent owner built four rental buildings that were approved and inspected by the appellant municipality.
It was later discovered the buildings lacked required firewalls, leading to the tenants vacating and a mortgage shortfall.
The municipality admitted liability for negligence at trial.
On appeal, the municipality argued the owner was contributorily negligent for the defective plans submitted by its contractor.
The Court of Appeal dismissed this ground, finding no evidence the contractor breached the standard of care and upholding the trial judge's finding that the owner and contractor were not joint venturers.
The judgment amount and set-off were corrected on consent.
