Ontario Industrial Laundry Inc. (OILI) owns several laundry plants in Ontario.

OILIs operations
include handling the laundry for various customers around the province. OILI decided to build a
large new plant in Brampton to replace a number of smaller and aging OILI facilities.
OILI engaged an architectural firm, Clever and Really Useful Design Developments Inc.
(CRUDDI), and entered into an architectural services agreement with it. Under the agreement,
CRUDDI was to design the new plant and prepare plans and specifications necessary to build it.
According to the agreement, CRUDDI was to design the most modern and technically up-to-date
laundry in Canada.
CRUDDI hired several consultants to provide the various services necessary for the project. Of
these, Mechanical Engineering Systems and Services Inc. (MESSI) was to design the air
conditioning and handling system.
Although MESSI did not have a contract with OILI, it worked closely with a representative of OILI
who specified that, as it was important to provide comfortable working temperatures in the plant,
the air conditioning and handling system must be able to provide working temperatures in the
range of 22-25 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 18 air changes/hour.
OILI, on the basis of competitive tenders, awarded the contract for the construction of the new
plant to Dominion Industries and Related Technologies Inc. (DIRTI). The contract price was
$15,000,000. DIRTI completed the construction in accordance with the contract drawings and
specifications.
Almost immediately after having commenced its operations in the new plant, OILI experienced
problems in the air conditioning and handling system. The temperature in the working areas was
excessive, reaching 38 degrees Celsius in the summer months. In the compressor room, the
temperature reached 50 degrees Celsius and caused malfunctions. In addition, the circulation
was poor and the air quality was offensive. The employees began suffering fatigue and other
ailments and it became necessary for them to take frequent heat breaks.
CRUDDI and MESSI tried several times to remedy the problems, but they were unsuccessful.
OILI retained Top Industrial Designs Inc. (TIDI), another mechanical engineering company, to
conduct an independent investigation. TIDI determined that the air conditioning and handling
system was underdesigned. The air conditioners chilling unit had a capacity of only 230 tons; a
larger unit having a capacity in the order of 600 tons should have been specified. In addition, the
exhaust and intake vents on the roof were located too close to each other and caused exhausted
air to re-enter the plant.
TIDI determined that the system would required $1,100,000 in modifications in order to meet the
plants specifications. It also indicated that, had the system been specified and constructed as it
ought to have been in the first place, construction costs incurred by OILI would have been
$400,000 higher, that is $15,400,000.

What potential liabilities in tort law arise in this case? In your answer, explain what principles of
tort law are relevant, and how each applies to the case. Indicate a likely outcome to the matter.