The operators of the Mont-Tremblant circuit were dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which upheld their conviction for excessive noise.
Posted at 6:52 p.m.
Targeted by a class action, Circuit Mont-Tremblant and three related companies were ordered in 2020 to compensate residents disturbed by the noise of the nearby race track.
Dissatisfied, the appellants appealed the Superior Court’s decision on the basis that the circuit complied with the City’s by-law, which tolerated higher sound levels.
However, “inconveniences can be qualified as abnormal and serve as the basis for an appeal”, and this, “despite the fact that the activity which generates them is otherwise legal and authorized”, ruled the Court of Appeal .
“Compliance with the regulatory framework of the activity cannot alone serve as a defense nor, as the judge mentioned [l’honorable Johanne Mainville], constitute an absolution from nuisance. »
In total, the appellants advanced five arguments to invalidate the decision, all of which were rejected by the Court.
“The judge meticulously dealt with all the arguments raised by the parties, weighed the abundant contradictory material and testimonial evidence and rendered a particularly thorough decision, based on the evidence and free from error justifying the Court’s intervention”, concludes the court document.
The Superior Court recognized that people who lived less than three kilometers from the race track between May 2009 and November 2018, and who had been exposed to a sound level exceeding 55 decibels, were victims of excessive nuisance.
The damages awarded vary from $150 to $750 per year depending on the date of establishment.
With Ariane Krol