Environmental causes of action
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Smith v Inco is requiring Canadian environmental lawyers to carefully rethink environmental causes of action–who can sue who for what? How can Smith v. Inco be reconciled with St. Lawrence Cement v. Barrette? (Different type of nuisance). Why can non-to…
View the post titled Environmental causes of actionPort Colborne class action dismissed
Can neighbours sue for historic contamination? The leading Canadian case has been Pearson (later Smith) v. Inco, a class action by thousands of Port Colborne property owners against Inco, for alleged losses in property value due to nickel oxide that was legally deposited in the area during t…
View the post titled Port Colborne class action dismissedLawsuit for noise and odour
Noise and odour are frequent sources of neighbourhood disputes. Sometimes those disputes can be resolved by turning to regulators, such as the Ministry of the Environment or municipal bylaw enforcement officers. Often, however, that isn’t enough. Some then turn to the courts.
View the post titled Lawsuit for noise and odourMacQueen v. Canada class action
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has certified a massive class action by Sydney residents against the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, relating to contamination from the notorious Sydney tar ponds, and the associated steel mill and coke ovens from the old Sydney Steel.
View the post titled MacQueen v. Canada class actionClass action certified for highway noise
"Collective action.. creates a just balance between the people who suffer the consequences of a violation and the offender, who often has much greater resources..."
View the post titled Class action certified for highway noiseNuisance, GHG and climate change
Today, the US Supreme Court reversed the groundbreaking decision, Connecticut v. American Power, which had allowed states, New York City and private land trusts to sue major greenhouse gas producers in nuisance, whether or not their emissions breached federal statute law.
View the post titled Nuisance, GHG and climate changeTransit, loss, and compensation
Our column in today’s award-winning SLAW revisits the Heyes case. “Public works often impose heavy losses on those in private property nearby. Under what circumstances should they be compensated? That should have been the question in Heyes v. Vancouver, now Susan Heyes Inc. (Haz…
View the post titled Transit, loss, and compensationHow reliable are odour units?
345 Given that there are many steps in the process of attempting to calculate odour units which are problematic, and which contain so many points of bias and subjectivity, the Panel finds that the ultimate number or value coming out of an odour unit measurement cannot be relied upon as me…
View the post titled How reliable are odour units?Environmental Assessment not statutory authority?
An environmental assessment, no matter how “extensive and wide ranging”, does not amount to statutory authority, or provide a defence in nuisance, according to the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Appeal in Heyes v. Vancouver, now Susan Heyes Inc. (Hazel & Co.) v. South C…
View the post titled Environmental Assessment not statutory authority?Heyes appeal: Subway construction a nuisance?
Is transit construction a nuisance? The British Columbia Court of Appeal has released its decision in Heyes v. Vancouver, now called Susan Heyes Inc. v. South Coast BC Transportation Authority. The court overturned a $600,000 judgment awarded to a local store owner, who was driven out of bus…
View the post titled Heyes appeal: Subway construction a nuisance?Receive Blog Posts
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