THUNDER BAY -- Five years after a class action lawsuit against the City of Thunder Bay was launched for damages in the May 2012 flooding, the claim remains unresolved.
In fact, a lawyer handling the case on behalf of local homeowners whose basements were flooded after a rainstorm says "we're still going through documentary discoveries."
In civil litigation, parties are required to disclose to each other all the documents they have that pertain to a lawsuit and may be used in a trial.
Won Kim of the Toronto firm Kim Orr Barristers told Tbnewswatch in a telephone interview that lawyers are also still gathering information on damages caused by the flooding.
"There are hundreds if not thousands of households that were damaged. We've been working with all the various insurers and individual households to collect damage reports. This is a laborious task," Kim said.
One year ago, Kim indicated that he expected the matter would be "ready for trial" sometime in early 2018. However, he has now clarified that the matter "has to be resolved either at a trial or through mediation."
He expects, he said, to have a better sense by June as to how the case will proceed.
Thunder Bay City Manager Norm Gale had no comment on the matter on Monday except to confirm that it "continues in litigation."
The city is also involved in separate but related litigation with an insurance provider.
Last May, it filed a statement of claim against the Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange (OMEX).
It sought to recover $30 million for the cost of repairs to the Atlantic Avenue sewage treatment plant which was damaged in the 2012 flooding.
City officials pegged the total repair cost at $58 million, but said OMEX only covered a portion, claiming that some of the work was actually upgrades to the plant rather than fix-ups.
The city's claim has not been proven in court.
