In a news release provided to Postmedia on Friday, CP said the company was taken aback at the decision by Court of King’s Bench Justice Alice Woolley finding it and the province jointly liable for $163.7 million in damages to Remington Development Corp.Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Remington had agreed to purchase the properties adjacent to the rail line between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue S.E. in 2002, but before the deal was completed the province moved in and made a better offer, Woolley found. She ruled CP breached its original contract with the developer and found the province, which sought the lands “as part of its ongoing long-term effort to acquire lands for the potential construction of a high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary,” induced the breach.
Woolley noted Remington had hired a consultant to design “a mixed-use development with high-density commercial and residential buildings across the three parcels, integrated green space, and connection between the 9th Ave. lands and the 10th Ave. lands by way of two Plus-30 bridges over the CPR main line.”
At a Dec. 4, 2006, meeting, Canadian Pacific advised the developer it had decided to sell the 10th Avenue lands to the province. When Remington founder Randy Remington asserted “we have a contract,” he was told by a railway representative to “get over it,” the judge said in her ruling.