Wife of former Indicom owner wages court battle as husband battles cancer in palliative care

The wife of Robert Stewart, former owner of Indicom Appraisal Associates Inc., sat in court on Tuesday morning hopeful that her husband’s legal battle with the City of Barrie may come to a close.

Unfortunately, it’s still only beginning.

“We want to see this through,” said Elizabeth Stewart, who appeared in court Tuesday on her husband’s behalf.

Robert Stewart is in palliative care battling cancer.

“I don’t want to wait until February. He might not make February," she said.

“It has been a long road, and we need to get this settled. We need to deal with this, however it happens, let’s get it done,” she said in an interview with BarrieToday.

According to the statement of claim, the City of Barrie retained the services of Indicom in July 2010 to appraise the Allandale Station land at 285 Bradford St., in Barrie.

Indicom alleges the City of Barrie shared the appraisal report with the Correct Group Inc. (CGI) without their authorization. CGI was a prospective purchaser of the property.

According to the City of Barrie’s defence filing, they never released the documents without Indicom’s consent. However, according to Court of Appeal documents, the appraisal documents were released, which set off a long string of legal disputes between CGI and the City of Barrie, Indicom and various other named defendants.

When reached by BarrieToday, legal counsel for the City of Barrie indicated CGI received the appraisal from the City of Barrie with Indicom's permission as part of document production for CGI's Superior Court action.

The letter of engagement, which was signed by Mr. Stewart and a representative of the City of Barrie in July 2010, indicates the working papers and appraisal documents are the property of the appraiser.

The letter also states the client, the City of Barrie, is not authorized to reproduce the analysis without written consent from the appraiser.

“That’s in every contract that we do,” said Stewart.

“The nature of the appraisal business is that, if I buy an appraisal, that appraisal belongs to me,” clarified Stewart’s paralegal, Lawrence Pomfret. “Sharing it with somebody else is a whole lot like burning a DVD.”

According to Stewart, if CGI had wanted an appraisal of the Allandale Station land, they should have commissioned one themselves.

“But not with Robert. He would not have taken that, because it would have been a conflict of interest,” she said.

“If the city wanted to share it, what they should have done was called Mr. Stewart and asked and he could have said yes or no, depending on his view of the situation,” added Pomfret.

The history of legal disputes relating to the Allandale Station land dates back many years.

In February 2008, the city issued a call for proposals to develop the station land. In 2009, the city signed on with CGI to develop the nine-acre site, which is located at Lakeshore Drive and Tiffin Street.

Also in on the prospective project to incorporate the 1905 series of buildings was the YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka. The YMCA pulled out in January 2010 because of growing financial risk due to environmental concerns and the discovery of Indigenous remains on the property.

In 2010, CGI filed its first lawsuit, then for $28 million. In 2011, the Brampton-based developer claimed breach of contract and bad faith and expanded it to $40 million to include damages to its reputation, slander, negligence and false representation.

CGI also subsequently targeted city officials and staff who allegedly misrepresented the condition of the site as well as allegedly divulged confidential information. The total of the claims reached $79 million.

While many of the CGI lawsuits have been dismissed, some are still making their way through the courts. Indicom is named as a co-defendant on the CGI lawsuits.

Back in Barrie on Tuesday, Pomfret lamented the damage that Mr. Stewart has endured to his reputation as a result of the ongoing litigation.

“Bob built a business in Barrie. He gave more than he took from the community,” said Pomfret, pointing to a long history of serving with the Rotary Club of Barrie, even winning the Paul Harris Fellowship on more than one occasion.

“The City of Barrie screwed up. There’s no other way to put it. ... They did something they shouldn’t have done. Bob’s personal reputation was besmirched,” said Pomfret. “In the twilight of his life, he’s now left with this kind of stress around having done the right thing, and somebody else having done the wrong thing. That, to me, is the most shameful part of this.”

Indicom and Stewart are asking the City of Barrie for $25,000, the maximum amount allowed in small claims court, despite their detailed list of expenses exceeding that amount.

Although scheduled for Tuesday, the matter between Indicom and the City of Barrie was put over until Jan. 15 for trial.