Magee House saga persists in court years after partial collapse

When the sudden collapse of a wall left a gaping three-storey hole in a heritage building ontrendy Hintonburg's busy main street,the head of the area'sBIA said the worst-case scenario would be years of lawsuitlimbo.

Nearly four years later, that's exactly what's unfolding with Magee House. OwnerOvidio Sbrissa now wants to represent himself in court, but he has missed thedeadline to file a motion to do so.

Sbrissais being sued by the city to recoup what it spent to make the 19th-century building safe after the southwest wall collapsed on July 24, 2018. Sbrissa hascounter-sued the city for what he claims really caused thewall to fail: vibrations from nearby construction projects.

Meanwhile abankis suing Sbrissa because hestopped payinghis mortgage afterthe collapse, and he's suing theinsurance company that denied him coverage after the wall came down.

In early April, after Sbrissa said hecould no longer affordhis lawyer, the lawyer removed himself from the record and Sbrissawas given 30 daysto either file a motion to represent himself or find new counsel. Failing to do so canresult in his matters being dismissed and hisdefences struck out.

That deadline passed over the weekend.Reached by phone Tuesday,Sbrissa sayshe's still working on the motionand plansto file next week.

Sbrissa intends to defend himself, saying the matter is too technical for lawyers to understandand simultaneously that no lawyer wants to touch it because it involves the city.

"Needless to say that all of this time that's gone by, the lawyers have really not done much. But they charged a lot, and we're still nowhere," Sbrissa said in an interview in April.

"I want to get to court. I want my day in court. How many more years is it going to take, you know?"

Mortar, or no mortar?

For Sbrissa, everything comes down to this: mortar, the paste that hardensto bind things together in construction, such asbricks andstones.

Engineer John Cooke, who washired by the cityto evaluate the building right after the collapse,contendedthe wall failed because the mortar holding all the stones together had turned to sand thatwas pushed down by years of precipitation, turning the place into "basically a house of cards."

But Sbrissa contendsthere was never anymortar to begin with; thatit's a Celtic dry stone wall withsome mortar on the outside just to keep the wind out, like chinking on a traditional log cabin.

After the wall collapsed,Sbrissa's insurance company denied him coverage, citing Cooke's report about the deteriorated mortar.In February 2020, Sbrissasued his insurance company for $1.3 million, claiming itbreachedtheir contract.

On Sept. 3, 2020, the city filed a lawsuit against Sbrissato get back the $32,000 the city says it spent on demolition work to "terminate the danger [posed by the building] and to protect the public," and also cited Cooke's report.

Days later, Sbrissa fired back with his ownlawsuit against the city, seeking $550,000 in damages. Sbrissa alleges "excessive vibrations" from nearby construction were actuallyto blame for thecollapse, and he claims the city was negligent for failing to monitor those vibrations and act to keep them in check.

All suits remain active and none of the allegations has been tested in court.

What happens to the building?

What will become of the languishing, boarded-up grey stone structure at 1119 Wellington St. W., which Sbrissa calls his "castle in the sky," isan open question.

Sbrissa wants to restore itand maintains that'salways been his intention even after he applied to have what remainstorn down(he later backtracked) and thentried to sell the property in2020. He got a few offers,he says, but rejected them because no one intendedto save what's left.

The architect is 75 years oldand restoring theheritage structure could take years. He also recently acquired a former train station in Comber, Ont., east of Windsorthat he intends to renovate. Is he ableto take all of iton?

"Well, I'm pretty young because I just got married at 68. Nothing is impossible But most architects reach their real period of significance when they're in their 70s or 80s," he said.

Does he have the money?

"Not at the moment, but if I win my case in court I'll be in a position to do it. I'm not asking [for]money to get rich. I'm just asking that I get paid enough so I can restore my building to the way it was."

Time will tell. And in all likelihood, it will be some time yet.

Let's fix the real problem, BIA head urges

Dennis Van Staalduinen, who leads the Wellington West Business Improvement Area, made the original comment when the wallcollapsedthat years of limbo would be the worst outcome.

He wishes there were a more creative way to deal with the matter, one that would focus on getting heritage structures back into shape and intouse instead of assigning blame. Not every developer is created equal, he says, and not everyone who owns a building has the same resources to improve them.

"If we are going to designate heritage propertiesas we should, what are we as a society and a city going to do to actually help the people who own those properties do the right thing?That's the next policy step that we're not getting to," he says.

"There's no point in having a heritage law at all if it prevents us from saving heritage buildings I couldn't care less about who's to blame. I just want that building working again and functioning as part of the streetscape."

Van Staalduinensaysit's on the city, not just the owner, to help salvage buildings like Magee House and Somerset House another heritage structure that has sat damaged and unused for years as disagreements between its owner and the city rage on.

Magee House timeline

July 24, 2018: Thewest wall of Magee House partially collapses, and Wellington Street West is closed to traffic in front of the building. The next daySbrissa tellsCBC he likely would have died in the incidenthad a neighbour not cajoled him into getting a slice of pizza. (Sbrissa had been living in the building, which the city thought was vacant,for 17 years.)

July 27, 2018: A corner of the remaining structure and part of the roof aredemolished afterthe city's chief building official issuesan emergency order. The city says thiswill allow for a more thorough assessment of the building.

July 31, 2018: Wellington Street Westreopens to vehicle traffic between Sherbrooke and Carruthers avenues. The sidewalk directly in front of the building remainsclosed to pedestriansand doesn't open again for another year.

Early August2018:John Cooke, an engineer the city contractedto evaluate Magee House, says the wall's mortar had turned to dust that was pushed down by years of precipitation, leaving "no two stones" held together. He recommends demolishing it altogetheror taking it down and rebuildingstone by stone. Sbrissadisagrees,sayingvibrations from nearby construction were to blame, and vows tohire his own engineer to contest Cooke's findings.

Mid-August2018:Martin Topley of Durham Engineering, hired by Sbrissa,concludes in addition to construction mistakesmade in 1870 when Magee House was built, seismic shifting caused either by natural or man-made forces caused the collapse. "If you ask me as a professional, it's vibration that probably did it," Topley says. "There had to be something move."

September-December 2018: Sbrissa applies to have what remains torn down and a committee approves the demolition. Sbrissathenchanges his mindjust two weeks prior to demolition, anda building official later announces Sbrissa must reinforce the building or risk the city demolishing it at Sbrissa's expense.

March 2019: Residents and businesses grow increasingly impatient with the sidewalk closure.

WATCH | A rally after a year of the sidewalk being closed:

Protesters push for sidewalk to be reopened near Magee House

5 years ago

Duration 1:03

Larry Hudon, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, says pedestrians are fed up with being unable to access the sidewalk, which has been closed since Magee House partially collapsed in July 2018.

Oct. 18, 2019: The sidewalk in front of Magee House finally reopensnearly 15 months after the collapse.

February 2020: Sbrissa sues his insurance company after itdenied him coverage after the collapse.

June 2020: A bank sues Sbrissa for not paying his mortgage after the collapse.

September 2020: The city sues Sbrissaand hecounter-sues the city.

April 2022: Sbrissa's lawyer is removed from the record. Sbrissa is orderedto file a motion to represent himself or hire new counsel within 30 days, or risk his matters being dismissed and any of his defences struck out. Sbrissa misses the deadline.