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ARTICLE · 11 NOVEMBER 2020

Dock Dispute Leads To Nuisance Claim And $598,000 Costs Award

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After years of litigation, a dispute between neighbours of waterfront properties on Lake Simcoe led to a mandatory order requiring the removal of a dock...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James R.G. Cook
James R.G. Cook
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After years of litigation, a dispute between neighbours of waterfront properties on Lake Simcoe led to a mandatory order requiring the removal of a dock, punitive damages of $100,000, and a costs award totalling $598,000: Krieser v. Garber, 2020 ONCA 699.

The Kriesers owned a waterfront property on Lake Simcoe, along with a 33-foot boat which they parked on marine rails that required a direct approach some distance from the shore.

In 2012, their neighbours, the Garbers, hired a contractor to build a large dock pursuant to a permit issued by what is now Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“MNRF”). Under the permit, the Garbers' dock (which cost $150,000) was to have been built at least 20 feet from, and parallel to, the projection of the property line into the lake between the Garber and Krieser properties. The permit application included Kriesers' consent to the installation of the dock as depicted therein.

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