Agricultural Law NetLetter - Monday, July 7, 2014 - Issue 303

** HIGHLIGHTS **

A Justice of the Ontario Superior Court has dismissed an application for an injunction by an apple farmer who operated a retail market outlet against a landfill operator who proposed to enlarge a berm on a 1 km buffer between the farm and the landfill. The farmer argued that the larger berm would give his customers the impression that the landfill was being expanded and that this would drive away business. The Court concluded that unsubstantiated stigma would not, of itself, normally be sufficient to establish nuisance. In addition, the Court found that the farmer had not established irreparable damage, and that the balance of convenience favoured permitting the landfill operator to proceed with the construction of the terms. (Thompson v. BFI Canada Inc., CALN/2014-024, [2014] O.J. No. 3179, Ontario Superior Court of Justice)