Ontario’s highest court has struck down a decision ordering the province to pay 1.7 million dollars to a family in Teviotdale.
As Bayshore Broadcasting News Reporter Manny Paiva tells us — the case followed by many farmers in the region was over concrete and asphalt waste on a dairy farm.
When Ben and Maria Berendsen bought their dairy farm in 1981 — they were unaware that waste from highway reconstruction was buried there in the 1960’s.
Soon after they purchased the farm in Teviotdale — their herd of cows started suffering from health problems and producing a low quantity of milk.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario takes issue with the trial judge’s finding that the waste directly caused the cows’ health problems.
The Appeal Court also finds Ontario was not negligent in depositing the waste where it did because the risk of harm wasn’t foreseeable in the 1960’s.
The court issued a decision Tuesday — allowing the province’s appeal of the trial ruling, setting aside that judgment and dismissing the lawsuit.
The case was followed by hundreds of farmers in the region who supported the Berendsen family in their legal battle.