Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Wright improperly altered the Association’s corporate records and attempted to install himself and others as directors.

• The court examined whether Wright had any legal authority under the Association’s by-laws to act on its behalf.

• Evidence showed Wright misappropriated funds, interfered with members’ peaceful enjoyment, and ignored a lease termination.

• The Association sought injunctive relief, corporate record rectification, compensation for losses, and removal of Wright from the premises.

• Wright’s justifications were found to be without merit and based on misunderstanding of governance structures and registries.

• Substantial indemnity costs and a constructive trust were ordered due to Wright’s egregious and persistent misconduct.

Facts and outcome

The Gail Park Cottagers’ Association, a not-for-profit organization operating a trailer park in Ennismore, Ontario, applied to the court to stop what it described as ongoing and disruptive misconduct by former member and leaseholder Paul Frederick Wright. Wright had previously served as a director until 2005 and held a lease for Lot 1 in the trailer park. The dispute arose after Wright began interfering with the Association’s governance and operations following a separate will dispute involving other park members.

Wright had previously been permitted to remain at the trailer park under the terms of a 2010 settlement agreement, provided he adhered to the Association’s by-laws. However, he began to actively undermine the Association’s authority, including by accessing the Ontario Business Registry and filing unauthorized changes. He unilaterally renamed the Association, replaced the legitimate board with himself and unrelated individuals, and interfered with its bank accounts and utility services.

The court reviewed a litany of conduct by Wright, including harassment of members, unauthorized changes to the corporate registry, tampering with electrical systems, and misappropriation of nearly $44,000 in Association funds. He was also involved in a dispute over Lot 26, interfering with its rightful occupant and physically disrupting services to that lot. Wright claimed that his actions were justified because the Association had not kept its registry filings current, and that he was correcting this oversight.

The Association terminated Wright’s membership and lease by vote of its members in August 2023. Despite this, Wright refused to leave, continued to occupy Lot 1, and claimed he was the rightful director of the Association. He also attempted to collect fees from members and tried to lease his lot to hostile third parties. These actions prompted the Association to seek court orders to protect its operations, restore its records, and remove Wright permanently.

Justice Papageorgiou found Wright’s conduct to be flagrant, improper, and without justification. The court emphasized that corporate authority flows from lawful elections and by-laws, not from registry listings. The judge concluded that Wright acted without any authority, misled a lawyer into assisting him, and significantly harmed the Association and its members, both financially and emotionally.

The court ordered Wright to vacate Lot 1 within 30 days and allowed the Association to sell the trailer if he failed to do so. He was permanently enjoined from attending the trailer park or tampering with the Association’s business registry records. The court declared that the Association retained control over its bank accounts and ordered a constructive trust over any funds Wright had taken. If the full amount of misappropriated funds was not recovered, Wright was personally liable for the balance.

Wright was also ordered to pay damages and costs, including over $43,000 in restitution, specific property-related costs, full indemnity corporate counsel fees, and substantial indemnity litigation costs totaling $48,223.93. The court rejected Wright’s attempts to portray himself as a victim or reformer, instead concluding that his actions were disruptive, unauthorized, and deeply damaging to a small community dependent on trust and cooperative governance.