FOG BLOG ATLANTIC LOG: N.S. MAN FILES CIVIL SUIT AGAINST CONTRACTOR, ALSO CONTRACTOR FINED- $17,000!

Company run by N.S. contractor fined $17K in Ontario engineering case Shane Ross and his companies have been been embroiled in multiple legal actions in recent years A company run by a Nova Scotia contractor who has been embroiled in multiple legal cases in recent years has been fined $17,500 by an Ontario judge for illegally using a copy of an engineer's seal on designs for a home rebuild project that went off the rails.

Standard Paving Ltd., whose sole director is listed as Shane Ross, was sentenced last week in the Ontario Court of Justice in Kingston on one count under the Professional Engineers Act, according to the regulator Professional Engineers Ontario.

Ross was profiled two years ago in a CBC story. Over the years, the 42-year-old has been accused of fraud and forgery, his companies have been fired from numerous construction jobs in Nova Scotia and Ontario, and he's been involved in legal actions with more than 30 contractors, property owners, towns and a Halifax university.

The Ontario engineering case relates to Brooke and Phil Crawford of Clarendon Station, Ont. The couple paid Ross, who lived in Lake Echo, N.S., at the time but often worked in Ontario, nearly $140,000 in insurance money to rebuild their home after a 2019 fire.

'Almost unbelievable'

The Crawfords later launched a civil lawsuit. The judge in that case found that little work was done, and called the "audacity" of Ross's deception "almost unbelievable."

Ross was subsequently sentenced to 90 days in jail for contempt of court. The Crawfords were eventually repaid their money. Another $300,000 in damages and costs was paid through a lawyer for Ross's parents.

The engineering case involves design plans submitted by Standard Paving to the local township as part of an application for a permit to rebuild the Crawford home.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the plans bore the seal and signature of engineer Frank Anrep, along with his purported email address and phone number.

However, Anrep was never involved in the project, did not sign or add his seal to the plans, and the contact information provided was not his, according to the facts submitted in court.