Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Judge awards more than $1.7 million in Teviotdale dairy lawsuit

No one told Ben and Maria Berendsen that their Teviotdale farm, which they bought in 1981, had been a dumpsite for highway construction waste during the 1960s. The couple experienced sick and dying cows, personal health problems and financial woes before abandoning the property in 1994. Last week, Ontario Superior Court Judge Silja Sepi ordered the provincial Ministry of Transportation to pay the couple and their three adult children more than $1.7 million.