Jeff Dover

The claimant, a restaurant operator, sought compensation for injurious affection and disturbance damages resulting from the expropriation of a portion of its leased plaza's common areas and the subsequent construction of the Eglinton Light Rail Transit project.

The Ontario Land Tribunal found that the claimant was an "owner" under the Expropriations Act due to its interest in the common facilities.

The Tribunal held that the severe traffic disruptions caused by the prolonged construction directly resulted in a significant decline in the restaurant's customer counts and revenues.

The Tribunal awarded $571,891 for business losses incurred between October 2017 and March 2020.

However, the Tribunal dismissed the claim for the loss of the business's overall value, finding that the restaurant's permanent closure was ultimately caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its pre-existing reliance on the claimant's other shuttered restaurants, rather than the expropriation.