When it rains, it pours.
Just one week after settling a legal dispute with John Black, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has resolved a nearly four-year legal battle with Hummel Properties Inc., agreeing to a $1-million payout to the St. Davids-based developer.
Despite the huge financial hit, Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said there is some consolation in putting the matter to rest.
“It’s a disappointment that it comes to things like this,” said Zalepa. “It’s also mixed with a bit of relief knowing that the matter is closed behind us.”
Both the Hummel and Black cases involved allegations of bad faith by the town.
Last week, the town agreed to pay $225,000 to settle a bad-faith lawsuit filed by Black in 2019, after it designated his property as heritage without his consent.
In Hummel’s case, the dispute began in late 2018. The company alleged the town misused an interim control bylaw to halt development on its Niagara Stone Road property, resulting in project delays and wasted costs.
In 2021, Hummel launched a lawsuit against the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake for damages over the interim control bylaw.
According to Hummel’s statement of claim, then-lord mayor Betty Disero and former councillor Stuart McCormack directed the town clerk to schedule a special council meeting on the morning of Dec. 5, 2018 — just one day after the newly elected council’s inaugural meeting.
The meeting was announced online on Dec. 4, giving less than 24 hours’ notice, and held in-camera, meaning the public and media were not allowed to attend.
The town admitted these details in its statement of defence.
Hummel argued the process lacked transparency and violated municipal rules, with no clear notice of the meeting or its agenda. The town, in its defence, acknowledged several of the allegations in the statement of claim but denied acting in bad faith or causing damages.
In a news release following the settlement, the town noted the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in October 2022 that the 2018 interim control bylaw was illegal. That ruling overturned a 2021 Ontario Superior Court decision.
“The Court of Appeal found that the interim control bylaw was illegal because it was beyond the town’s statutory powers and violated the terms of the Planning Act,” the town stated.
Hummel claimed the bylaw had significant negative impacts on its business, alleging the delays and preliminary work required by the town resulted in wasted expenditures.
Zalepa said he was unaware of any similar settlements in Ontario.
“I don’t ever think I’ve seen anything like this in NOTL,” he said.
McCormack, Disero and Rainer Hummel of Hummel Properties Inc. refused to comment on the settlement.
