HALIFAX: A legal battle over damages caused by the twinning of Highway 104 appears to be over.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal dismissed five separate claims from local business owners who claim their businesses were negatively affected by the twinning of Highway 104, which now bypasses Antigonish.
The March 17 decision confirms the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board’s (UARB) decision to dismiss their claims as well.
In 2015, five businesses in Antigonish each notified the province of their intent to bring a claim charging injurious affection under the Expropriation Act, for damages sustained by virtue of the project.
None of the businesses had actually lost land due to an expropriation.
In the October 2019 hearing, the UARB heard all five claims, which had been heard together from the owners of Tri-C Management, Justamere Café, Pleasant Valley Nurseries, Down to Earth Art Gallery, and Dream Catcher’s Deli & Treats.
The businesses claimed the construction of the Antigonish bypass impaired access to their properties and reduced market value, while the province submitted any such claim, which they denied, were statute-barred.
In February 2020, the UARB rendered five decisions that addressed each claim. In each, the UARB rejected the province’s assertion that the claim was statute-barred. In assessing the merits of the claim, they determined none of the businesses had established a claim of injurious affection.
“The (UARB) reached a correct conclusion when it found that the claims were not statute-barred,” Justice Cindy A. Bourgeois’ decision read. “The (UARB) applied the correct legal principles to the facts before it. The businesses failed to demonstrate the (UARB) erred in a manner justifying or permitting appellate intervention.”