Local medical isotope provider Nordion filed an amended statement of claim on Monday requesting damages in the amount of $243.5 million from AECL, down from the $1.6 billion Nordion originally sought.
The arbitration decision in September, which ruled against Nordion by a two-to-one margin, ended part of the three-year fight over the MAPLE nuclear reactors that AECL decided to mothball, citing a design flaw that Nordion argued was manageable.
But the decision does not prevent Nordion from going forward with its ongoing lawsuit against AECL under its Isotope Production Facilities Agreement.
Because of the majority opinion in the arbitration, Nordion’s amended statement of claim under the IPFA no longer includes the federal government and the damages claimed are substantially lower. Nordion and the federal government have agreed to the discontinuance of the action against the government without costs, according to a press release issued by the company.
The amended statement of claim, filed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeks damages against AECL for “negligence and breaches of the IPFA, among other things, during design and in construction supervision and quality assurance,” the release states.
The matter is expected to go to trial in mid-2014.
Nordion’s legal costs associated with arbitration and the pursuit of the lawsuit against AECL are currently expected to be approximately $2 million in fiscal 2013, according to the company.
The local firm may also be on the hook for part of the $46 million in arbitration fees claimed by AECL. A decision on the matter will likely be made in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.
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