Overview
- Justice Barbara Young dismissed Montrose Property’s bid to reopen the 513-day Cowichan title trial as an abuse of process, saying relitigation would undermine the trial’s finality.
- The underlying August 2025 judgment that the Cowichan Tribes hold Aboriginal title to part of Tl’uqtinus in Richmond remains in force as parties move to the B.C. Court of Appeal.
- Montrose, the largest private landowner in the area with about 120 hectares of industrial property, said it will review the decision and has 30 days to seek leave to appeal or to apply to intervene in the appeal.
- The Cowichan say the case seeks government redress for historical takings rather than automatic removal of private titles, while the B.C. government has offered financial backing to affected landowners as legal challenges continue.
- The decision closes the door on late, post-judgment participation by private owners at trial and sends the dispute into a multi-party appellate phase that will shape how courts and governments address historical dispossession and remedies.