ERIN – A lawsuit filed by former Erin mayor Lou Maieron against the Town of Erin, seeking a return of property taxes paid for a disputed property, has been dismissed.
In the lawsuit, Maieron claimed an improper municipal easement was placed on land given to him as part of a settlement agreement with a neighbour who planned a residential development on their property.
“In the end result, Mr. Maieron has a deed that is contrary to his agreement with (his neighbour). However, the Town of Erin is not at fault for that,” wrote Justice Gordon Lemon in a written decision dismissing the lawsuit.
That decision is dated Jan. 22 and was issued following three days of hearings held in a Guelph courtroom this past November.
“While Mr. Maieron may have had a claim for damages arising out of (his neighbour)’s breach of the agreement, he has not asked for any and is now out of time to do so,” added Lemon.
That agreement was made in 1997, resolving an Ontario Municipal Board appeal Maieron participated in regarding his neighbour’s development plans.
In his lawsuit, Maieron alleged he didn’t learn about the easement until 2005 when he attended town offices to pick up the property deed.
However, the town and neighbour who gave Maieron the land reached an easement agreement for the site in 2003, the written court decision explains.
“Mr. Maieron should have had the land and should have paid the taxes; therefore, there is no loss to him based on when he paid them,” Lemon wrote, referring to the nearly $50,000 Maieron sought to have returned to him.
The lawsuit, filed in 2013 seeking a total of $75,000, initially included Credit Valley Conservation as a defendant, but the written decision notes it was “let out of the action in advance of the trial.”
Maieron served as mayor of the Town of Erin from 2010 to 2014.
