Noise Complaint Dropped Against Evenko

Representatives for the community of St-Lambert recently requested an emergency injunction in Quebec Superior Court that would have forced Evenko to turn down the volume after 7 p.m. for fests including Osheaga and Heavy Montreal.

Residents had argued noise and vibrations from the concerts were making life difficult for people who live in the suburb. But in a 15-page judgment obtained by the Montreal Gazette, Judge Chantal Corriveau sided with the promoter and the city, which operates the park.

“Even if the court has concluded the existence of irreparable damage for St-Lambert, the balance of inconveniences favours the position of Montreal and Evenko,” Corriveau wrote. “For Evenko, the scheduled concerts, which bring together 250,000 people for nearly 230 concerts, could have been cancelled by issuing this emergency injunction. This would be a loss of $24.5 million for Evenko.”

The judgment continued that if residents of St-Lambert had sought the injunction in 2014 or earlier in 2015 it may have been granted, but instead it was tossed because it doesn’t constitute an emergency situation.

“There is nothing new or particular that happened except that the patience of residents has waned,” Corriveau wrote.