Businesses affected by the Bank Street road closure last fall are considering legal action to collect compensation for lost business.
Bank Street was closed at the Bank and Somerset intersection for eight weeks due to the unstable conditions of the heritage building that collapsed last October on the southeast corner of the intersection. This loss of traffic proved costly to Bank Street businesses.
“We have suffered immensely,” said Steve Merali, owner of the Dollar It! franchise. “We missed the biggest buying seasons, both Halloween and Christmas, and customers have still not come back.”
The Bank and Somerset location of Dollar It! was forced to close for three months due to its close proximity to the heritage building. Since re-opening in January, Merali said there are half as many customers coming to the store than last year at this time.
His legal counsel is still reviewing the situation, he said, looking at what strategies would be best to take.
Gerry LePage, director of the Bank Street Business Improvement Area, said some Bank Street businesses are working with lawyer Fred Cogan to build a case. Cogan has been working with the BIA and other businesses since the collapse. LePage said he could not release the names of the businesses for confidentiality reasons.
The BIA cannot launch a class action lawsuit on behalf of the businesses, LePage said, but they are still gathering evidence.
LePage said the BIA worked with the city to defer tax season for the businesses.
Their taxes are due five months from now, LePage said, and this delay cost the city $320,000. Although this is helpful, he said, it does not make up for the losses businesses incurred.
“It does not mitigate the situation, it just defers it for now.”
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes said in order for businesses to get compensation they would have to provide proof business was lost because of the closure.
This means businesses need in-depth accounting practices, LePage said, and not all businesses have enough documentation.
Kim Ramji, manager of the restaurant Atomic Rooster, said she would like to see legal action taken against both the owner of the building and the city, especially since an engineer released a report that one lane of Bank Street could have been left open if a five-metre fence was built in the middle of the road for protection.
Ramji said the Atomic Rooster has not taken any legal action yet.
The owner of the heritage building, Tony Shahrasebi, is currently facing charges for violating the Building Code Act. He is scheduled to appear in court March 13.
Holmes said if the city were to pursue more legal action against Shahrasebi, it would be to cover policing costs the city accumulated during the closure.
In a related case, the corporate owner of the heritage building, T.K.S. Holdings Inc., has made a statement of claim against the City of Ottawa, Shahrasebi’s lawyer, David Dwoskin, said.
The claim was made because the plaintiff said the city delayed renovations of the building causing costs to increase for the owner, Dwoskin said.
He said it was made within the last week and the City of Ottawa would have about a month to respond. Dwoskin said he was not involved with the claim and could not comment any further.
Shahrasebi said he could not comment on any legal actions being taken by or against him. All he said was “we’re going to court.”