Judge denies certification of proposed Africville suit

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has denied a proposed class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for the expropriation of land in Africville more than five decades ago — but he has not shut the door entirely on the legal action.

Former residents of the former African Nova Scotian community were seeking compensation through a class action brought by former resident Nelson Carvery. First settled in the mid-1800s, Africville was demolished in the 1960s in the name of urban renewal.

The demolition cast a long shadow over race relations in the city, and in 2010, city hall issued a public apology and $3 million to rebuild the Africville church on the southern shore of the Bedford Basin, among other things, but the settlement did not include personal compensation.

The Carvery suit sought liability on the part of the City of Halifax, damages and costs.

But Justice Patrick Duncan dismissed the application, saying in his decision last Friday that the plaintiff had failed to satisfy the requirements of the Class Proceedings Act.

In particular, Duncan ruled that the plaintiff did not demonstrate that there is a second member of the class and that there is a common issue for possible class members.

“I am not satisfied that the proposed definition of a class member ... would identify persons who have a potential claim for relief against the defendant,” he wrote in his 34-page decision.

“The motion for certification of the action and appointing the plaintiff, Nelson Carvery, as representative plaintiff is denied.”