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Hamilton Spectator
17-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Court Dismisses $39M Lawsuit Over Stouffville's Failed Bethesda Park Sale
● Ontario Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit against the Town, Mayor Lovatt, and former CAO Rob Adams over a failed $77.9 million land deal. ● The proceedings stemmed from a conditional agreement of purchase and sale involving Bethesda Sports Fields Park. ● Justice M. McKelvey deemed the action null after the plaintiff failed to post court-ordered security for costs. ● The plaintiff claimed the Town unlawfully ended the deal, failed to act in good faith, and misrepresented its intent, causing financial harm. ● Relief sought by the plaintiff included enforcement of the agreement or $38.1 million in damages, plus $1 million in punitive damages. ● Town officials maintained they met all contractual obligations and said the claim had no merit. ● The lawsuit was raised during the 2022 municipal election when it surfaced on mayoral challenger Justin Altmann's campaign website. ● Mayor Lovatt called the suit 'frivolous' and said he was grateful for the dismissal. After casting a shadow over Stouffville since surfacing during the 2022 municipal election, a lawsuit concerning the proposed sale of Bethesda Sports Fields Park has been dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The legal action was filed by 2348219 Ontario Inc. (the Plaintiff) on March 7, 2022, against the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Mayor Iain Lovatt, and former Chief Administrative Officer Rob Adams (the Defendants). Central to the Plaintiff's claim was the Town's alleged breach of a conditional agreement of purchase and sale (APS) signed April 26, 2021. The lawsuit alleged the Town unlawfully terminated the deal and failed to exercise its contractual discretion in good faith. Additional allegations included negligent misrepresentation regarding the Town's intentions to close the sale and a breach of fiduciary duty by Lovatt and Adams. The Plaintiff claimed the Defendants failed to take promised steps to complete the transaction, leaving the Plaintiff financially disadvantaged. In their May 9, 2022 Statement of Defence, the Defendants stated the Town did not waive its conditions and that the conditional APS became null and void. 'The Plaintiff subsequently confirmed [this] and requested and received a return of its deposit,' it says. 'There has been no breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith, or misrepresentation by any of the Defendants…The Plaintiff's expenditures were, at all times, its own responsibility and made at its own risk in pursuit of its own potential development,' it added. 'There is no merit to any aspect of this claim.' The Statement of Claim, distributed March 7, 2022, says 2348219 Ontario Inc. 'is in the business of real estate investment and development,' and its sole director and shareholder is Richmond Hill resident Mark Edwards. According to a July 20, 2023 Factum of the Defendants (the Factum), Edwards is a licensed mortgage broker who operates the corporation under the registered business name AFM Mortgages. Edwards sought several forms of relief, including either completion of the sale or $38.1 million in damages for lost opportunity. The claim also requested $1 million in punitive damages and an order requiring the Town to surrender any future sale proceeds exceeding the original $77.9 million price. Dismissed on a Technicality The case never proceeded to a hearing on the merits. Instead, it was dismissed on May 14, 2025, after the Plaintiff failed to comply with a court order to post security for costs. Additionally, the Defendants had successfully motioned for over $14,000 in costs in July 2024 to cover legal fees. 'Like any other municipality, we took steps to ensure we could seek costs because of the frivolous nature of this action,' Lovatt said in a conversation with Bullet Point News. 'We wanted to be sure that this company had actual assets, because we were going to be counter-suing them for the tax money we were going to spend to defend our innocence.' According to the Factum, 2348219 Ontario Inc. declined to submit documentation demonstrating its asset holdings. The Defendants were unable to identify any real estate owned by the company in Toronto or in the surrounding regions of York, Peel, and Durham. While the Plaintiff's counsel did not respond to the Defendants' request for evidence of its assets, it did respond to the Defendants' costs submission in July 2024, suggesting they were excessive. In its response, the Plaintiff requested a reduction of nearly $10,000 in owed costs. The court found the Town's request for partial indemnity costs to be fair and reasonable, noting the amount was within what the losing party should have expected. 'The Plaintiff is a sophisticated commercial entity that is seeking $39.1 million in damages from the Defendants over a failed $78 million real estate transaction,' Justice C.M. Smith stated in an Endorsement on Costs document. 'The notion that the comparatively small sum sought by Defendants' counsel in costs for this motion is outside the reasonable expectations of such a party is difficult to accept.' The funds were never transferred to the Town. 'On reading the Motion Record of the Defendants (Dismissal for Failure to Post Security for Costs) and Factum of the Defendants, and on hearing the submissions of the lawyers for the Defendants, and on noting the consent of the Plaintiff to this Order, this court orders that this action is hereby dismissed without costs,' presiding Justice M. McKelvey wrote in the final dismissal Order. It All Began Over Coffee 2348219 Ontario Inc. alleged Mayor Iain Lovatt encouraged Edwards to purchase the Bethesda lands over an agricultural parcel during an introductory fall 2020 meeting at a Main Street Starbucks. 'It was the Defendants who proposed the municipal land as being the best location in Whitchurch-Stouffville for the proposed development,' the Statement of Claim reads. 'Initially, [2348219 Ontario Inc.] and its agent were interested in purchasing a rural farming property within the Town but were persuaded to purchase the municipal land due to the Defendants' insistence that it was a more suitable location.' Lovatt categorically rejected the allegation. 'That's 100% false. I did not persuade anyone to do anything,' he said. 'They weren't considering any agricultural lands at all, and I have no idea what lands they are referring to. They came specifically asking if we would sell the park.' Bullet Point News sought comment from Mark Edwards via a phone number believed to be his but did not receive a response by deadline. A Conditional Opportunity On April 5, 2021, the Plaintiff submitted an offer to purchase the property. The Town agreed to a sale price of $77.9 million, subject to several conditions outlined in the APS. These included formally declaring the land surplus and obtaining final approval from Council through a public resolution. Lovatt said he expressed support for the proposal and was willing to rally Council behind the sale. He noted the funds from such a sizable transaction could have allowed the Town to purchase parkland twice the size of the Bethesda property while bolstering the Town's parks reserve fund by tens of millions. While Stouffville officials viewed the proposal as a potential opportunity, they concluded that any sale would hinge on securing a suitable replacement site for the sports fields. To avoid disrupting public access to the facilities, the APS was amended to make the transaction contingent on acquiring that new parkland. 'The Town was unable to secure a suitable alternative property for use as a sports park despite making reasonable efforts to do so,' the Defendants' counsel stated in court filings. Lovatt declined to comment on the specific replacement sites they considered, citing concerns that disclosure could affect future opportunities should they arise. Zoning Roadblock Halts Progress Stouffville's Council also sought necessary changes to the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) to allow residential development on the protected Bethesda lands. Although York Region included the amendment in its 2022 Official Plan following advocacy from Mayor Lovatt, the Province removed it before granting final approval. 'Our Council motion has been public for years showing we were trying to get those lands out of the ORMCP,' Lovatt told us. 'This was supported by the Region and included in its updated Official Plan, but the Province redlined it.' Without the change, Edwards' development could not move forward as envisioned. Unmet Terms Void Agreement Under the terms of the APS, if the three key conditions were not met or waived, the agreement would be considered null and void, and the Plaintiff's $400,000 deposit would be returned. The Statement of Defence says Edwards contacted the Town's real estate solicitor on Jan. 31, 2022, to request the return of the deposit. That request was formally reiterated on Feb. 2, 2022, in a letter from his lawyer, which also confirmed the agreement had been rendered void. The deposit was returned, and the Plaintiff cashed the cheque on February 7, 2022. However, the Statement of Claim argues an Oct. 21, 2021, text message from Mayor Lovatt to the Plaintiff's realtor, Adam Ratcliff, amounted to a waiver of the Town's conditions under the APS. The exchange came after the Town secured Regional support for its proposed changes to the ORMCP. Ratcliff wrote, 'Just heard the news! Amazing job!!!! Couldn't be happier to hear that outcome :-) Have a great evening, talk soon.' Lovatt replied, 'We've literally done everything we can. Time for Mark to bring a firm deal.' The Statement of Defence disputed that the message constituted a form of waiver, calling the suggestion 'a complete falsehood.' It also argued the Mayor did not have the authority to waive the conditions on behalf of the Town through a private text message. 'Even if the Mayor's text had purported to waive the conditions (it did not), as a matter of law a municipal corporation acts through resolutions of its council or through otherwise properly delegated authority,' counsel explained. 'Communications by text from a representative such as a mayor cannot bind a municipality.' Litigation Fuels Election Tensions The Plaintiff's counsel also issued a letter dated Oct. 17, 2022, addressed 'To Whom It May Concern.' The letter enclosed a copy of the Statement of Claim but did not include the Town's Statement of Defence, and it was not sent to the Town nor its legal counsel. Instead, the letter appeared on the campaign website of then mayoral candidate and former Mayor Justin Altmann, who was running against Lovatt at the time. It was posted shortly before the Oct. 26, 2022, municipal election, sparking significant public backlash over the attempted sale, the failed deal, and the resulting lawsuit. Lovatt says he is unsure how the material made its way to his political opponent's website. Bullet Point News asked Altmann how he obtained the Statement of Claim, but he declined to comment. 'Out of Stouffville and no longer involved, sorry,' Altmann responded. Town Pays to Close the Chapter Stouffville has incurred approximately $31,000 in external legal fees related to the dismissed legal action, according to Town spokesperson Glenn Jackson. Under Town policy, legal expenses for the Mayor, Members of Council, and staff related to municipal matters are covered by the municipality. 'All of those fees are incurred by the Town, none by Mayor Lovatt or Mr. Adams,' Jackson told Bullet Point News. 'There were no additional non-legal costs.' Although the case was dismissed without costs awarded, the Town has no plans to pursue further recovery. 'It could just cost us even more,' Jackson suggested. With the lawsuit now closed and the Town no longer facing claims over the failed $77.9 million sale, municipal officials say they are ready to move on. 'The entire claim, from the outset, was BS,' Lovatt said. 'We are grateful that this has been dismissed.'
BBC News
09-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Funds to help communities mark VE Day anniversary in Wychavon
A £19,000 fund is being made available to help communities in part of Worcestershire mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in District Council is making the money available to town and parish councils to support activities on and around 8 May, the anniversary of VE Day in is also scrapping fees for road closure notices for anyone holding a street party on 8 May, on 5 May or over the weekend from 9 to 11 armed forces champion, Rob Adams, said: "We encourage everyone to come together to reflect, celebrate, and pay tribute to those who secured our freedom." Deputy leader Aaron Powell said he was delighted "our strong financial position has allowed us to provide this funding". Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
