Willis v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2009 NSSC 244 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

In 1988, a sewage treatment plant was built in North Preston, next to the farm where the plaintiff, Mr. Willis, lived. Over the course of nearly two decades, Mr. Willis lived with unpleasant and sometimes “wretched” smells that emanated from the plant. He eventually sued the Halifax Regional Municipality ("HRM") for nuisance (substantial and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of land).

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia agreed that the sewage treatment plant was a nuisance to Mr. Willis. It also held that the HRM could not rely on the defence of statutory authority, which negatives liability for nuisance if: (1) the activity causing the nuisance is authorized by statute, and (2) “the nuisance is the ‘inevitable result’ or consequence of exercising that authority.” The Court held that the odours emanating from the sewage treatment plant were not inevitable, as the plant could have been using different treatment processes. Finally, the Court also held that the HRM had no statutory immunity that would prevent it from being liable for nuisance, and it awarded damages in Mr. Willis’s favour.

To read about this case in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, go to Halifax (Regional Municipality) v. Willis, 2010 NSCA 76 (CanLII).

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2009/2009nssc244/2009nssc244.html

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