Construction Negligence | Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP

Navy Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP title card reading "Ottawa Floods and Construction Defects," with a photo of partner Peter Reinitzer.

After the Deluge: When Ottawa Basement Flooding Points to Construction Deficiencies

Peter Reinitzer July 14, 2026

The historic Canada Day 2026 storm left thousands of Ottawa homeowners tearing out drywall and replacing ruined furnaces. But an extraordinary weather event does not absolve builders and engineers of liability: where one home floods while its neighbours stay dry, the real cause may be a hidden construction defect, and that opens a very different path to recovery, if you act before the limitation clock runs out.

Navy Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP title card reading "Slatkovsky v Machado", with the line "A non-delegable permit duty and a dual agent's duty to disclose". Case comment, civil litigation, from dcmlaw.ca.

Unpermitted Renovations and Dual Agency: Key Takeaways from Slatkovsky v Machado

Peter Reinitzer June 19, 2026

A Puslinch century farmhouse looked beautifully renovated. The structural work had no building permit, and no one disclosed it. In Slatkovsky v Machado, the Ontario Superior Court held both the vendors and their double-ending agent liable, awarding the buyers $150,318 and confirming that the owner’s permit duty cannot be passed off to a contractor.

Latent Defects and Vendor Liability: Lessons from Austin v. MacFarlane

Peter Reinitzer March 6, 2026

A purchaser must inspect, but a vendor cannot hide behind “buyer beware” after actively concealing what is wrong with a home. In Austin v MacFarlane, 2026 ONSC 463, a North Bay buyer discovered foundation cracks, hidden mould, and an improperly built deck days after closing, with repairs exceeding $119,000. The Ontario Superior Court explains where vendor silence ends and active concealment begins.

No Damages Beyond “Buyer Beware”: Residential Renovations, the Building Code, and Construction Negligence

Peter Reinitzer January 20, 2026

When a homeowner takes on a major renovation, they can step into the legal shoes of a builder, and the duties that come with it cannot be signed away in a standard form contract. In Oliva v Dickson, 2025 ONSC 6666, the court mapped the intersection of contract, the Ontario Building Code, and the duty owed to later purchasers. The decision draws on Breen v Lake of Bays and Wesley v Geneau, two matters in which Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP acted for the successful parties.

Flooded Again? Why Your Insurance Denial Might Be a Clue to a Deeper Problem

Peter Reinitzer October 28, 2025

A property owner suffers a devastating flood, makes the panicked call to their insurer, and is told the policy does not cover “overland flooding,” or that the sewer-backup limit falls far short of the repair bill. For many that is the end of the road. But a denial can be a clue that the real problem is not the rain at all, but a construction defect in how the home was built, and that opens a very different path to recovery.

Introducing Peter Reinitzer to the Partnership

Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP August 27, 2024

Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP is delighted to announce that Peter Reinitzer joined the partnership effective September 1, 2024. Based in the firm’s Huntsville office, Peter built his practice in personal injury and property loss, completing eight Superior Court trials in his first three years and helping clarify the law in property damage and negligent construction cases affirmed on appeal.

Huether v Sharpe: Continuous Liability of Municipalities in their Regulation of Residential Construction

Peter Reinitzer July 12, 2024

In Huether v Sharpe, the Township of McMurrich Monteith argued that negligence claims over a 1980s home build were barred by the 15-year ultimate limitation period. The Superior Court disagreed: because the Township never closed the building permit, its duty to monitor the construction was ongoing, so the limitation period did not bar the claim and the summary judgment motion was dismissed. The decision is under appeal.