Nuisance and Neighbourhood in Late Nineteenth-Century Montreal: Drysdale v Dugas in its Contexts

AuthorEric H. Reiter
Pages35-69
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Nuisance and Neighbourhood in Late
NineteenthCenturyMontreal
DrysdalevDugasin its Contexts
EricHReiter
Introduction
Npersonal dimension that can bel ie the often relatively
modestlegalstakesinvolvedPiingneighbouragainstneighbourandin
volving perceived invasion of the homes, workplaces, or senses of the par
ties, nuisance complaints tend to elicit vehement reactions on both sides.
OnesuchaairisDrysdalevDugas, which reached the Supreme Court of
Canada in  Centring on a dispute between neighbours in Montreal,
the case pits Drysdale, who built and ran a stable in a residential neigh
bourhood, against Dugas, who complained of the horses’ unpleasant odours,
foulliquidsandincessantnoiseItalsohighlightsdicultissuesofprop
erty powers and duties, fault and liability, precedent and public policy, and
remediesMoreoverastheSupremeCourtsrstmajorpronouncementon
nuisance in Canada, Drysdalesinuencehasextendedbeyonditsoriginsin
thecivillawofQuebecRecentlyitsrelevancewasrearmedwhentheSu
preme Court endorsed its view of liability for nuisance in StLawrenceCement
vBarreeof
Like all nuisance cases, Drysdale sits at the intersection of t he law of prop
erty and civil liability, and it reveals lawyers and judges alike seeking co
herentoratleastworkablerulesandconceptsinamurkyeldoflaw
Like all Quebec nuisance cases, Drysdale also straddles the civil law and the
common law, with French and English principles and precedents mingling
ヌハEricHReiter
sometimes in concert, sometimes in tension. Finally, like all legal cases of
whatever kind, Drysdalehasastorybehinditonethatbothllsoutandat
times challenges the rather lifeless published reports of the case. In this
article, I use Drysdale and its stories to explore the intersections of doctrinal
legal principles and lived social ordering in a time of changing urban land
scapes and neighbourly relationships.
Dramatis Personae: Dugas and Drysdale
N   concept. The smells, noises, smoke, vibrations, and
other physical irritants behind the legal idea of nuisance become problem
aticwhenindividualsliveincloseproximitytooneanotheranddierences
inpersonalitiessensibilitiesandlevelsoftolerancegiverisetoconictover
the irritants. It is also, of course, a legal concept, and the principles, inter
pretations and precedents of the legal system aect the so cial aspects of
nuisanceasthesocialaspectsaectthelegalBehindbotharepeople
neighbours, lawyers, and judges — who come to litigation with previous
historieswhichprovideanotherlevelofinuenceonthecourseofthecase
CalixteAiméDugastheplaintiinDrysdalewasaprominentandwell
connected member of the Montreal legal community. Though it was no se
cret at the time, it appears nowhere in the reported judgments that Dugas
was himself a judge of the Montreal Court of Sessions, the lower criminal
courtBornininStRéminearMontrealDugasstudiedlawwithboth
afutureQuebecchiefjusticeAADorionandafutureprimeministerof
CanadaJJCAbboAfteradmissiontothebarinhisfortunatecon
nections continued: he practised law with a future Supreme Court justice
DésiréGirouardandinmarriedSuzanneHarkinacousinofLewis
Drummond, justice of the Quebec Court of Queen’s Bench. Dugas served
brieyinmunicipalgovernmentandinranunsuccessfullyfortheprov
incial Liberals. Soon after his defeat he was rewarded with an appointment
as judge of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, serving also as extra
dition commissioner. A proponent of military training, Dugas belonged to
thethBaalionMountRoyalRiesandsawactivedutyasaMajorlater
promotedtoLieutenantColonelduringtheNorthWestRebellionof
Dugas was also a member of several prestigious Montreal clubs, mingling
with the francophone elite at the Club Canadien and the a nglophone elite at
the Metropolitan Club.
NuisanceandNeighbourhoodinLateNineteenthCenturyMontrealヌヒ
Besides his position as judge and his general knowledge of the law,
two other aspects of Dugas’s personal history factor into this litigation: his
litigiousness and a speculative streak. Like many legal professionals with
knowledge of their rights and a drive to vindicate them, Dugas was involved
inanumberoflegalactionsovertheyearsAlreadyinthesasayoung
lawyerheparticipatedinawellpublicizedfracasoverhishavinghitched
his horse to a gatepost, as a result of which he was arrested for allegedly
assaulting a constable. Tellingly, he not only defended himself against the
charge but launched a  suit against the constable and the City of
Montreal for false arrest and violation of his rights.Ininanothercause
célèbre, Dugas successful ly brought private criminal l ibel charges against Ed
mundSheppardownerofthesensationalistandantiFrenchTorontoEven-
ingNews, over articles al leging cowardice, looting, and desert ion by Dugas’s
regiment during the Rebellion. Dugas also appears in various cases con
nected to his business deali ngs, such as a breach of contract suit arising from
plans to form a company to exploit an invention to turn garbage into fuel.
JudgeDugasMontrealQCbyWilliamNotmanSonDecemberThis
photograph of Dugas, like the pho to of Drysdale below, is by Montreal’s premier society
photographerWilliamNotmanMcCordMuseumIIReproducedwithpermission

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