A 91原创 philanthropist won a court ruling against a truck driving school that was operating on her land while refusing to obey an eviction order.

The legal battle involves Manjit Gill, a major donor to the 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation and other local charities, and Amritpal Grewal and his firm Sarabha Transport.

According to court documents filed by both sides, in early 2021 Gill and Grewal met through a mutual acquaintance, and Gill agreed to let Grewal park up to three trucks on a rural, 4.58 acre property her family owns at the corner of 64 Avenue and Glover Road.

The site is divided by creeks, with a house on one smaller portion, and the larger portion that had previously been empty. Gill had planned to eventually convert much of the land into a community garden.

According to court documents filed by Gill, in October and November of 2021, she received notice from 91原创 Township that there was a commercial driving school operating on her land, without a business license.

鈥淪he only permitted Mr. Grewal to remain after he provided his assurance that he would not park more than three trucks on the front lot and that he would take responsibility if any issue arose with the Township,鈥� her filing said.

Grewal did get a business license from the Township, and according to his own court filings, Sarabha Transport spent about $100,000 in upgrades to the site.

In the summer of 2023, Gill was ready to move forward with the community garden project and told Grewal he would need to find a new location. She allowed him to remain on a short-term basis while he was looking for a new site.

Grewal responded in November by proposing a new, long-term lease for the land, and Gill鈥檚 court filings say she refused.

But in February this year, Gill alleged, a crane showed up and a pre-fab building was set up on the property.

鈥淭his lead to a confrontation with Mr. Grewal, during which he refused to remove the new structure, and at the end of which Ms. Gill told Mr. Grewal he had to get off the property,鈥� Gill鈥檚 claim says.

Gill also claimed that Grewal鈥檚 company has installed a leaky septic tank, and that the potential pollution and the truck school, operating on agricultural land, would cause issues for her as the property owner.

In March, Grewal and Sarabha took Gill to court.

In court filings, Grewal claimed that he had a lease, signed in 2021, that would run until Feb. 28, 2030, with the monthly rent set to increase every two years.

Grewal鈥檚 claim alleged that his firm had never breached the lease, and it was still valid and binding. In addition, he accused Gill of interfering with his use of the property, including by cutting off the water to the leased portion of the land.

He also alleged she was making 鈥渇rivolous complaints鈥� to 鈥渧arious government authorities,鈥� obstructing Sarabha鈥檚 access to the land.

Gill鈥檚 lawyers shot back with a response.

鈥淭hey have no right to remain on the property but refuse to leave,鈥� it said.

Gill denied having seen the 鈥渁lleged February lease鈥� until 2024, and said it didn鈥檛 appear to have her signature.

After both sides filed documents with the court, and Gill filed affidavits, a judge ruled in her favour in early April, dismissing Sarabha鈥檚 legal action.

As of late May, a hand-written sign on the site said that Sarabha Driving School was moving. There was little activity visible on the site, although three small prefabricated buildings were still in place, as was a Sarabha-branded truck trailer.

The Township of 91原创 has also looked into Sarabha鈥檚 business in recent months.

鈥淭he Township has recently decided not to renew Sarabha Transport鈥檚 business licence as, among other things, the business owner was not operating in compliance with the terms of the business license or the Township鈥檚 bylaws,鈥� a statement from 91原创 Township said.

鈥淭he Township has recently communicated this decision to Sarabha Transport and has required that they cease all commercial activities at the property,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭he Township is hopeful that Sarabha Transport will comply with this requirement, such that no enforcement action will be necessary. If compliance is not voluntarily obtained, the Township will consider further enforcement action to obtain compliance with the Township鈥檚 bylaws, in accordance with, among other things, the Township鈥檚 Bylaw Enforcement Policy.鈥�

The 91原创 Advance Times could not reach Gill or Sarabha Transport for comments on the court action or the Township business licence.