Contractor sues Stelco for $17.7 million

A contractor is suing Stelco for nearly $18 million, claiming the steelmaker did not fully pay for construction services at Stelco's Nanticoke operation.

In a statement of claim filed in Cayuga court late last month, Anmar Mechanical and Electrical Contractors Inc. said Stelco still owes just under $17.7 million for construction of the coke oven facility at the steelmaker's Lake Erie Works.

None of the claims have been tested in court.

Anmar said the dispute dates back to February 2020, when the company entered into a contract with Stelco to supply mechanical and electrical fabrication and installation and related labour, services and materials" for the Nanticoke project.

The total price of the contract, after all approved changes, worked out to $123.35 million, according to Anmar's court filing.

The money still outstanding pertains to two unspecified changes to the project that Anmar says were approved in writing by Stelco's representatives, as were the related timesheets for added labour hours.

Anmar says Stelco has yet to pay what is owed despite the contractor's repeated requests" to the steelmaker to fulfil the agreement.

Anmar registered a claim for a lien against the property where the allegedly unpaid work was completed.

The settlement sought by the contractor includes approximately $13 million in wages and materials and holdback in the amount of $4.7 million.

Anmar is represented by law firm DLA Piper. In an email to The Spectator, lawyer Emma Cosgrave declined to comment on the statement of claim.

Stelco did not respond to several requests for comment on this story.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting on Haldimand and Norfolk is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. jpantonacci@thespec.com