Use of Outdoor Wood Furnace Caused $40,000.00 in Nuisance Damage to Neighbouring Couple
Court accepted that the defendant’s use of an outdoor wood furnace interfered with the plaintiff’s enjoyment of their property, and assessed the damages at $20,000.00 for each couple.
The interesting twist in this case arose as a result of the defendant’s prior agreement to stop using the furnace as a means upon which to resolve a prior Small Claims Court claim, on consent. Because of that resolution, the court accepted that liability had already been admitted, and the plaintiffs only had to prove their damages. Put another way, the plaintiffs did not have to prove that the defendant’s activity actually created a nuisance, which is “a substantial and unreasonable interference with the plaintiffs’ use or enjoyment of their land.”
Rintoul v. Drummond, 2022 ONSC 998
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2022/2022onsc998/2022onsc998.html