A Bruce County Dairy Farmer from Chepstow, who sued the Province for the contamination of their original Teviotdale area farm and initially won, is now off to the Supreme Court of Canada looking for justice.
This after their court victory was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Dairy Farmers Ben and Maria Berendsen are continuing their fight over buried highway reconstruction waste, they claim contaminated their farm land and well water and caused serious health problems in their dairy cattle.
That eventually forced them to abandon the farm, and move to another property near Chepstow.
When they purchased the farm, they did not know the Ministry of Transportation had dumped and buried asphalt and concrete waste on the farm back in the 1960’s.
They initially sued and won a 1.7 million dollar settlement from the Provinces for negligence.
However in December of 2009 the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned that award
Canadian Environment Law Association Lawyer Richard Lindgren says that is when they filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, and just last week a panel of three judges decided to look at the merits of the case.
He says they should know by late May or early June whether the Supreme court will hear their case.
Lindgren says they have based their appeal the fact the lower court need some judicial guidance when it comes to determining to what extent a crown ministry should be held liable for any environmental contamination.