Motoplex Speedway and Event Park.
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March 21, 2017 - 11:40 AM
VERNON - B.C.’s Court of Appeal is hitting the brakes on a case between the Motoplex Speedway and a local housing developer.
The company behind Lawrence Heights, a seniors housing development just outside of Vernon, has lost its appeal for more money in a lawsuit against the owners of the Motoplex Speedway.
The developer filed the appeal after an April 2016 ruling in which the trial judge awarded the company $100,000 in damages, and ordered the speedway to keep the noise level down to a certain decibel.
On appeal, the developer of the manufactured home park argued the damages were “inordinately low” and said the judge made legal errors when he refused to add additional terms to the injunction — such as requiring the speedway to give advance notice of noise-making activities and allowing the developer to go on the property for the purpose of monitoring sound levels.
During trial, the developer argued its damages were up to $6.3 million due to the noisiness of the track affecting development of the remaining lots.
In a decision released this morning, March 21, by the B.C. Court of Appeal, Justice Mary Newbury said to prove those damages, the developer would have to persuade the court that without the race track noise, the lot sales and development would have been brisker.
“Given the various market forces (including competitive developments) that could affect the proof of this hypothetical, this was bound to be a difficult task,” Newbury said.
Newbury found no legal errors, and said the damages were not inordinately low.
“I see no basis on which we could or should interfere,” Newbury said.
The appeal was dismissed.
The speedway hasn’t held an event since June 2015, and has not scheduled any upcoming events. In July 2016, the track's general manager said the owners are waiting to get through the appeal before making any decisions on the future of the track.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017