HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-09-11, Page 2T� - ` ........y.-�
2 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, September 11,1013
Archie Gibbs fought and won 1
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Gibbs launched his legal action In the
early 1980s, after the death of an uncle.
The court victory, after a 76 -day trial,
was also a huge coup for Gibbs' lawyer;
Julius Melnitzer, then a rising star in Lon-
don's legal community. 'three years later
Melnitzer engineered one of biggest bank
frauds in Canadian history and was ulti-
mately convicted and disbarred.
But Gibbs fared much better than his
lawyer.
Along with title to the beach, he
received $1.2 million for lost revenue.
An appeal of the court ruling required
Gibbs to give the public access to the
beach, but he made money collecting
parking fees and he personally cleaned
up the beach every night.
In 1998 he made a deal with the prov-
ince and the village of Grand Bend to sell
the 1.78 -hectare property.
The village paid $149,00 as its share of
the settlement, but the money paid by
the province to Gibbs has never been
released.
Recently Gibbs has filed a second land
claim- this time at Grand Bend's harbour.
Ile had attended several 1 aunbton Shores
meetings with his lawyer Philip Walden
and daughter Michelle. Gibbs often told
the Lakeshore Advance this fight was not
for him but for his daughter and grand-
daughter. I le said when he was gone, his
daughter would continue his fight for
family land. '1'he issue at hand today is
the ownership, operation and manage-
ment of the Grand Bend harbour. Gibbs
met with council in 2011 to open discus-
sions concerning this matter. Before the
cut was created at the hairpin turn and
before the harbour was constructed In
1897- the land, (as is seen on the 1853
survey), on the south side where the art
galleries and restaurant are, was origi-
nally the Stephen Drain.'lhe deed to the
lands that include where the pier is and
the launch ramp were titled to the Gibbs
family.
LOOKING BACK
The land battles with Gibbs fancily
began in the late 1970s. 'there was a trip
to the council of the day in 1979 and then
the court battles began in 1988,
In the early 1980s, M. A. (Archie) Gibbs
and Gibbs Company sued the Province
of Ontario and the Village of Grand Bend,
claiming Gibbs owned the beach south
of Main Street at Grand Bend and also
claiming damages. The Province and the
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Old river scene
Village counter -sued, asserting
that the Crown owned the beach
or, alternatively, that the public
had the right (called in law a pre-
scriptive right) to continue using
the beach for recreational pur-
poses, as it had since the 1870s.
For most of this century, the
Ministry of Natural Resources and
its predecessor, the Department
of lands and Forests, contended
that the beach south of Main
Street at Grand Bend was owned
by the Crown, because of its inter-
pretation of the original Crown
grant..
After a 76 -day trial in the
Supreme Court of Ontario in 1989,
Mr. Justice W. 1). (,:hilcott ruled
that: Gibbs owned the beach and
From Me Moo of Lynda H Hman-Rapley
the Crown had failed to establish
a prescriptive right of any kind for
the public to use the beach. Gibbs
was awarded damages and costs
for the "loss of revenue. Grand
Bend got the beach back in 1997.
Gibbs' wife, Jean, died in 2000.
I le's survived by his daughter and
son-in-law, a granddaughter and
several brothers and sisters.
OFFICE HOURS
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tteshore Advaoce
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