Outer Battery man has history of defamation suits, once had a man … – CBC.ca
The owner of controversial floodlights in the historic Outer Battery neighbourhood of St. John’s has a running list of ongoing lawsuits, and local residents are concerned his penchant for suing people is keeping the city from stepping in.
Colin Way, who owns multiple properties at the end of Outer Battery Road, erected a powerful lighting system and neighbours have complained for months that it’s shining into their houses and interfering with their everyday lives.
Despite being criminally charged with mischief in relation to the lights, Way is still not turning them off at night.
CBC News has found Way — along with his wife, Jacqueline, and their company, Way’s Haulage and Excavation — is no stranger to the courts, with at least five lawsuits ongoing. Way also once had a man charged under the Highway Traffic Act for “looking up at him” as he drove past.
Tender issues in Corner Brook
Way is currently in litigation with the City of Corner Brook, his hometown, over allegations related to his work as a contractor. He owns Way’s Haulage and Excavation, and has worked on many contracts with the city.
In 2015, the City of Corner Brook, dealing with a wave of water main leaks, gave a contract to one of Way’s competitors without putting it to tender. Way said his business was negatively affected after he complained about that contract. In a 2017 lawsuit, he claimed the city breached contracts, violated the Public Tendering Act, defamed his business and more. The city denied all the claims.
The lawsuit is still ongoing. Way later sued the city again over a contract to replace a retaining wall, which became complicated when the job required more work than initially thought. The additional work was given to a different company, even though Way won the contract for the initial job. The city denied all claims and countersued Way for breaching his contract.
Judge tossed traffic case between Way and nemesis
Way became involved in a traffic court case in 2006, when he complained after a man passed him while he was driving uphill in a dump truck and towing an excavator.
According to court records, Way testified he became concerned the man was going to cut him off because he “looked up at him” while passing. Way complained to the police, and the man was ticketed for driving without reasonable consideration for other persons.
The two men had a long-standing feud, with the other driver saying Way would “go off the head” every time they saw each other for several years.
Judge Wayne Gorman dismissed the charge, saying the driver “certainly did not do anything which could be remotely labelled as having driven in an imprudent manner or without reasonable consideration for other persons,” and that “the evidence presented in this case is not close to being sufficient to prove” a violation had occurred.
Right of way dispute turns nasty
According to property records, Way bought his first place in the Outer Battery in late 2017. By 2019, a simmering property dispute with a neighbour reached the courts.
Steven Topping is seeking a court order granting him a right of way to his property at 52 Outer Battery Rd., which sits beyond the end of the paved road.
Topping had access to his house through a path near Way’s property at 45 Outer Battery Rd. Topping said there had been an agreement with the previous owner of Way’s house to use that right of way, which was revoked when Way took ownership of the property. Topping does not believe the right of way belongs to Way.
On July 31, 2019, Topping said Way blocked access with his car while Topping was trying to bring construction materials down to his home. A few hours later, Topping began recording as Way was yelling at him. The recording shows Way repeatedly calling him anti-gay slurs while telling Topping he’ll “debone” him and “boot f–k” him “down to Water Street.”
Topping posted the recording on Soundcloud and linked to it in a Facebook post that referred to Way as a “thug” and suggested he was attempting to intimidate Topping to have him drop his case over the right of way. Topping also said Way told him he “knows some boys in Montreal,” which Topping took as threats of connections to organized crime.
Way sued Topping over the text attached to the Soundcloud recording and in the Facebook post, saying they contained information that was false and defamatory. The matter was set to go to trial in November but it was delayed. No dates have been set.
In a message to CBC News, Topping said he believes he’ll win both cases, but the legal fees will set him back thousands. He hired a lawyer to defend him in the defamation suit, and said he has little hopes of recovering his full legal costs even if he wins the case. He figures he’ll be out as much as $40,000 when all is said and done.
“At the moment I’m in for $15,000 and haven’t seen a courthouse,” Topping wrote. “I have very little to gain and a great deal to lose. I am doing this for moral reasons. I work as a carpenter and an artist — when I’m lucky enough — and as such, don’t have resources for extended legal battles.”
Sues over ‘pirate’ comments and Outer Battery outburst
Way’s most recent filing are for defamation of character related to a pair of incidents in the metro St. John’s area. Both filings were made in October.
In one filing, he says a woman went to Wajax — a heavy equipment rental company in Mount Pearl — and accused Way of using a rented loader to steal a load of lumber. He says she told two people present at the business that Way was “a pirate,” “a thief,” and “doesn’t pay his bills.”
Way said those statements were false and defamatory.
Way is also suing a woman for complaining about him at a home in the Outer Battery in September 2021. He says the woman “verbally attacked” him in front of two other people. The statement of claim says she told the group that Way was “dealing with his real property unlawfully,” that he was parking illegally, that he swore at another resident, that “he doesn’t like women,” and that he’s “not a good person.”
Way claimed all those things were untrue, and he sued her for defamation.
Neither of those cases have been settled in court.
City looks to province for action
St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen isn’t taking chances on being the subject of Way’s next lawsuit. He told reporters last week the city has no recourse through its current bylaws, and that any amendments or new bylaws would take too long to solve the problem over lighting in the Outer Battery.
Resident Christina Smith told CBC News that Breen had previously told a group of concerned neighbours that “the city cannot be seen to be creating a bylaw in order to target an individual.”
That led to a group of protesters attending Monday’s city council meeting, demanding the city take some action.
Just before the protest, Breen sent the group an email and suggested the province has the power to target an individual under the Environmental Protection Act. He included local MHA John Abbott and Environment Minister Bernard Davis on the email and sent it to several media outlets as well.
“While we have not been able to take action under the current municipal legislation, we have not been inactive on this issue and we continue to work diligently on your behalf,” Breen wrote to Smith and her neighbours.
