The lawsuit by the tenants of 3440 Ridgewood was filed this week in the Superior Court of Quebec. It targets the company that owns their building, 3655 Ridgewood Investments Ltd., as well as its only two shareholders and managers, Jeremy Kornbluth and Brandon Shiller.
The 21 plaintiffs, who occupy 16 dwellings, estimate that the defendant and its agents knowingly used harassment tactics in order to obtain the departure of the tenants, including in particular harassment by negligence, abuse of rights or omission. They allege that major works undertaken in September 2020 on all five floors have made their lives unbearable. The lawsuit states that the construction site quickly becomes a disaster and a nightmare for all the tenants: the common areas are cluttered with materials, the apartments are invaded by dust and the din and noise are constant.
Still in the lawsuit, the tenants point out that there is asbestos in the building, which leads the CNESST to put the construction site on hold in the fall of 2020. Asbestos is carcinogenic and there is no safe exposure threshold. However, the tenants argue that no information in this regard had been shared with them. The request, filed in Superior Court, also mentions their evacuation of the building in February 2021 after the Régie du bâtiment had noted, among other things, the absence of fire separations. The actions of the defendant show beyond a shadow of a doubt a blatant disregard for the well-being and safety of the tenants.can we read in the document.
The plaintiffs are claiming the sum of $65,000 per dwelling, under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Québec, as well as retroactive rent reductions during the work and their evacuation.
When added together, the damages requested exceed $85,000 per tenant for a total amount of nearly $1.7 million. A lawsuit with such an amount and so many tenants before the Superior Court, I cannot say that it is a first in Quebec, but it is quite unprecedentedspecifies their lawyer Daniel Crespo, of the legal study Desmarais, Desvignes, Crespo.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to lift the corporate veil that distinguishes between a company and its managers. The tenants believe that Jeremy Kornbluth and Brendon Shiller, the head of the company that owns their building, are also responsible for what they experienced. We are convinced that the two shareholders have full knowledge of what this company is doing and acted knowing the consequences of what they were doing.explains Me Daniel Crespo.
Twice, in April and December 2021, The bill had documented the situation of these tenants.
The tenants first appealed to the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), which then deemed it incompetent to hear the case since the amounts claimed by the tenants exceeded the maximum limit of $85,000.
Jeremy Kornbluth and Brandon Shiller, who own many buildings in Montreal, often arouse the discontent of tenants. Their methods are criticized.
Called to comment on this lawsuit, the lawyer representing the company Les Investissements 3655 Ridgewood Ltée, Me Éric Choueke, writes to us that he is inappropriate for us or our customers to comment at this time since the case is before the courts.
Source: Radio-Canada
