On Thursday of this week Meaford Mayor Francis Richardson and Georgian Beach Road defendants Geoff and Pauline Grist will enter a Collingwood courtroom to begin the discovery phase of a lawsuit that the Grists have launched against the Mayor.
In their statement of claim the Grists allege that Richardson abused his position of power, and violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act leading up to and during the long running battle between the Municipality of Meaford and a group of Georgian Beach Road residents including the Grists.
While they are seeking more than $2.5 million in damages from Richardson, Geoff Grist told The Independent on Monday that the legal action is not about money. The statement of claim also seeks the resignation of the Mayor, and a stipulation that he not hold public office for a period of seven years, and for Grist, a resignation would be enough.
“If Richardson resigns, I will drop the suit,” said Grist in a phone interview.
In his statement of claim Grist makes several allegations against Mayor Richardson which have not yet been tested in court.
According to the Grist statement of claim, the dispute between the Grists and Richardson dates back to 2004 when the Grists were asked to remove a deck that had been built on a cottage they had purchased on Georgian Beach Road. The municipality maintained that the beach area where the deck was being constructed was public property, though the Grists say that several nearby cottages featured similar decks.
“Richardson was a vocal proponent for removal of the deck,” says the statement of claim, “Richardson ensured that Town resources were used to remove the deck under the pretence that no person could get a building permit for a deck on public property.”
The municipality removed the deck on May 28 of 2004, and in the statement of claim Grist says that Richardson attended to oversee the removal.
“Richardson attended at the First Cottage Property on May 28, 2004 with the OPP to oversee the removal of the deck,” says the statement of claim.
The battle between Richardson and the Grists escalated after they had purchased a second cottage property in November of 2004, also on Georgian Beach Road.
Grist claims that the second property was purchased from Richardson's sister. Richardson has previously told The Independent that the property in fact belonged to his cousin.
This second property which the Grists also claim gave them ownership to the water's edge became the lightning rod for the eventual lawsuit filed against Grist and other property owners on Georgian Beach Road.
“All because one guy wanted to ride his bike on our property,” Grist told The Independent alleging that Richardson had attempted to ride his bicycle across his property during the summer of 2006.
“Geoff Grist was present when Richardson made an attempt to cross over the property with a bicycle. Geoff Grist refused to allow Richardson to pass over his property. Rather than leaving, Richardson antagonized Geoff Grist by engaging him in a heated argument,” says the statement of claim.
By the autumn of 2006 the wheels had been set in motion for the municipality to sue the Grists beginning with the discovery of a bylaw from 1854 which the municipality says proves the existence of a public road, which in the statement of claim is referred to the “Road to Nowhere.”
“In October of 2006 Richardson used his influence to commit substantial municipal resources to enforce his alleged right to cross the Second Cottage Property,” reads the statement of claim, “Richardson used as his foundation for this effort a newly discovered 150 year old by-law.”
In October of the following year the municipality began legal proceedings against the Grists.
“By October 26, 2007 Richardson successfully pressured Town Council to commence proceedings against the Grists to establish the Road to Nowhere,” alleges the statement of claim.
The Georgian Beach Road lawsuit launched by the municipality ultimately failed as in September of 2011 a Superior Court Justice dismissed the lawsuit in a summary judgement saying that Meaford had not proven their case, and that a by-law from 1854 was not sufficient evidence that a road ever existed on the water side of the Georgian Beach Road properties in question.
Last week the same Superior Court Justice ordered Meaford to pay more than $600,000 in legal costs to the defendants in the case. Grist's share of that award, $342,842, represented 65 percent of what the Grists had spent defending themselves against the municipal lawsuit.
The Municipality of Meaford has appealed the decision of the judge, a move that Grist says that it will just cost the municipality more money as he is convinced that the appeal will also fail.
“They can pay now (by dropping the appeal), or pay later,” Grist told The Independent.
In addition to the alleged abuse of power, the Grist statement of claim says that Richardson had violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act due to his involvement as a member of Meaford council during the time that the municipality was taking legal action against Grist and other Georgian Beach Road residents.
“Richardson owns property on the shore of Georgian Bay north of the bylaw 11 lands. The Road litigation has a financial impact on his property ownership and therefore he has a pecuniary interest in the Road litigation,” says the Grist statement of claim.
Richardson did not begin declaring a conflict of interest during council discussion of the issue until May of 2009.
“In late August of 2010, it came to the attention of the Grists that Richardson has failed to leave Town Council meetings that are not open to the public and that involve the Road Litigation. Richardson has actively engaged in discussions of the Road Litigation in closed meetings of council despite his pecuniary interest. Richardson has participated in these closed session meetings with the intention of influencing the outcome of meetings and influencing the vote of council,” alleges the statement of claim.
Contacted by phone, Richardson told The Independent that he will not step down, and has filed a statement of defence.
“That's not going to happen,” Richardson told The Independent when asked about Grist's request that he resign.
Richardson declined to comment further other than to say that he feels there is no basis for the lawsuit that has been filed against him, and he hopes that the case will be dismissed.
“I'm very confident because there's no basis for the suit he's brought against me,” said Richardson.
For his part, Grist says that he just wants his family left alone, and to be able to enjoy spending time at their Meaford residence.
“Meaford is a beautiful place to live,” Grist told The Independent, “I just want my family to be left alone.”
