Instant Storage (Edmonton) Inc. (“Instant Storage”) appealed a decision of the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (the “LPRT”) awarding it $12,149 in disturbance damages relating to a U-Haul business it operated at Hanger 11, a property located at the Edmonton Municipal Airport, and which was owned and expropriated by the City of Edmonton.

On appeal of that decision, Instant Storage claimed that it also operated self-storage and parking businesses from Hangar 11 and was entitled to a disturbance or business loss payment of $4,275,000 relating to those businesses.  The LPRT determined that Instant Storage did not operate these other businesses for its own benefit. It found that revenue from the parking and self-storage businesses belonged to Hangar 11 Corp., a closely affiliated company to Instant Storage.

Among other things, Instant Storage argued that the LPRT committed a legal error in focusing on the legal rights of a third party to the revenue Instant Storage said it derived from the businesses at Hangar 11. The Alberta Court of Appeal agreed, writing:

The [LPRT] asked itself the wrong question. The issue before it was whether Instant Storage had demonstrated disturbance or business losses arising from the expropriation with respect to the operation of self-storage and parking businesses from Hangar 11 – not whether Hangar 11 Corp. is entitled to the revenue from these businesses. It was unreasonable for the [LPRT%] to make findings as to the rights inter se between Instant Storage and Hangar 11 in the context of this compensation hearing and in particular, where Hangar 11 was not a party to the proceedings […]

Exercising its authority under Rule 14.75(g), the Court referred the matter back to the LPRT for a disposition of Instant Storage’s claim in accordance with this decision.