Fourth lawsuit sparked by Fort Gibraltar collapse
The catering company at Fort Gibraltar is suing the City of Winnipeg and Festival du Voyageur, adding to the fallout of the collapse of an elevated platform at the replica trading post two years ago.
Gibraltar Dining Corp. alleges the city and festival are responsible for its lost revenue because it was unable to operate after the collapse on May 31, 2023.
'The plaintiff… was prohibited from entering the property, including the fort and the lease premises,' the court papers claim.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
After the May 2023 collapse of an elevated walkway along the inside walls of Fort Gibraltar, the catering company that serviced the historic site is suing for lost revenue.
'The plaintiff was barred from enjoying or otherwise its exclusive access to the lease premises, operating its business under the contract, and retrieving its food and equipment for an extended period of time,' states the suit filed in Manitoba Court of King's Bench.
The elevated walkway along the inside walls of the fort at the St. Boniface historic site collapsed while Grade 5 students from St. John's-Ravenscourt School were on a field trip. Seventeen of them, and a teacher, were taken to the Health Sciences Centre for treatment. Twenty-eight people had tumbled to the ground from a height of about four to six metres.
The incident, the claim alleges, 'significantly impaired' the corporation's ability to operate and caused financial losses and damages.
The city owns the land and leases it to the festival, which operates the site.
In 2011, the corporation signed a lease agreement with the festival to provide food, drink, catering and promotional services. It was granted exclusive access to parts of the property.
In the lease, the festival was responsible for upkeep and maintenance as well as for the cost of repairs to the building, the lawsuit says.
The catering company alleges the festival breached its contract by failing to keep the fort in good repair, failing to adequately inspect the property for structural deficiencies and by barring it from its leased property.
The lawsuit accuses the city and the festival of negligence in the design, construction, inspection and maintenance of the fort and walkway.
The company wants damages from the festival for breach of contract.
It wants damages from both the festival and the city for negligence, loss of past and future income and loss of reputation and standing in the community.
It is asking for special damages for items it lost in the incident and the money spent to rev up operations again.
A specific dollar figure is not included.
The suit marks the fourth claim against the city and festival in relation to the incident. Two students and the teacher have launched lawsuits, which remain before the court. The city and the festival have denied liability in those claims.
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St. John's-Ravenscourt filed a small claim against the non-profit festival last week.
The private school is seeking $12,696.43, plus interest and court costs, for the money it paid for substitute teachers and for counselling made available to students after the walkway collapse.
Festival du Voyageur said in 2023 it would dismantle and reconfigure the historical site.
It built the site, which is a replica of two earlier forts of the same name, in 1978 on city-owned land in Whittier Park. It has been used regularly for public and private events.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik PinderaReporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
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