Donor sues city over controversial cow
$4M lawsuit against Markham opposes plan to move sculpture
The donor of Charity, the cow-on-stilts sculpture, is suing the City of Markham for $3 million in property damages and $1 million in general damages.
The lawsuit, filed in Toronto by Romandale Farms Ltd. on March 21, is based on council’s decision last fall to move the controversial sculpture from Charity Cres. to one of three alternate locations.
The July 2017 installation of the 7.6metre-high stainless steel sculpture enraged residents who live on the crescent.
But the decision to move it deeply upset Helen Roman-Barber, who claims ownership of Charity. She wasn’t interested in any talk of moving the sculpture to an alternate location in Cathedraltown or elsewhere in Markham.
As the decision nears on when and where the sculpture will be relocated, Romandale took action to forestall the move with a lawsuit that essentially offers the city three choices.
Romandale demands the city either: a) pay damages in the amount of $4 million; b) pay the full costs to remove Charity from its current location and return it to the owner (which BarberRoman maintains she still is, despite the city’s view that it owns the sculpture) or; c) leave Charity at its current location.
It is now known whether the city has filed a statement of defence, intends to defend itself, or what action it will take in response to the lawsuit. A request for comment was met with this response:
“A statement of claim has been filed against the City of Markham by Romandale Farms Limited. Any request for City of Markham records must be made through the City of Markham’s Freedom of Information (FOI) process. Alternatively, a copy of the statement of claim can be requested through the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Toronto Court office).”