Can a contractor be held liable for poor design or specifications?

In other words, if the contractor provides the specifications, and the owner specifically adopts and agrees with these specifications, then the contractor can be held liable for poor design or specifications. In my view, that was the situation in the Howie v. Donovan-Brisbois case, referred to above. I refer in particular to paragraphs 6 to 9 of Mr. Justice Whitmore’s decision. At that point in time, he sets out in considerable detail the discussions between the contractor and the owner and clearly concludes that the contractor provided very specific recommendations as to how the work would be conducted. In effect, the contractor set out the specifications. The owner relied upon the contractor’s expertise and adopted those specifications.