The High Court has blamed the collapse of a stadium's roof on an engineer and the Invercargill City Council.
The roof above the community courts at Stadium Southland collapsed under the weight of snow in September 2010.
A statement issued by the Invercargill City Council said the court has found that the council was 10 percent responsible for the collapse, while Invercargill engineer Tony Major was 90 percent responsible.
The council said the judgment was for almost $17 million and said, while the council was only partly to blame, the council's insurer may have to pay the full amount if Mr Major could not meet his contribution.
The council said it was considering appealing the judgment, because of the implications it had for councils throughout the country who rely on professionals involved in construction projects.
The court's judgment said the council was negligent in issuing a code of compliance for remedial works to the roof, when it had no information to conclude that the work complied with the building code.
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt declined to comment on the matter.
Listen to Invercargill City Council CEO Richard King