Personal Liability To Pay Damages, Including Punitive, To A Neighbour For Environmental Contamination: A Warning From Midwest

The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Midwest Properties Ltd. v. Thordarson¹ is now the leading authority in Ontario on a number of significant issues in environmental litigation. In this case comment we focus on the Court of Appeal's finding that the principal of the defendant corporation was personally liable for general and punitive damages arising from the contamination of the neighbouring land. 

You can read our analysis of Midwest with respect to liability under section 99(2) of the Environmental Protection Act²  here  and the scope of the damages award here.

The Facts

Midwest acquired a property in Toronto in 2007. Before purchasing the land, it obtained a Phase I environmental report based largely on a visual inspection of the property. The Phase I report did not recommend that Midwest should conduct more intrusive Phase II investigation of its property.