Lawsuit over Haines Junction bakery concerts dismissed

A lawsuit over the volume and duration of summer concerts at the Haines Junction Village Bakery and Deli has been dismissed.

A consent dismissal order, signed by the three residents who launched the legal action and the lawyer representing the bakery, was filed to the Yukon Supreme Court on Sept. 1.

The order does not offer any details on how or why both sides agreed to bring the case to an end, but marks the tentative conclusion to a years-long dispute over the bakery's summer concert series, which sees musicians perform at the venue on weekend nights.

While popular with visitors and locals, some residents claimed that certain performances in recent years had been too loud and could be heard from inside their homes, disrupting their ability to sleep and relax. One neighbour also said the concerts were hurting her nearby cabin-rental business.

The issue escalated in May, when three residents filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction that would have imposed a volume limit and 9 p.m. cut-off time for performances.

The bakery, in reply, argued the concerts weren't as loud as the plaintiffs claimed they were, and also filed a number of affidavits, including from other local businesses and residents, in support of the concerts.

Reached by email, one of the plaintiffs, Valerie Drummond, wrote that she had no comment and that she and the other plaintiffs were "totally done with this issue."

Lawyer Vincent Larochelle, meanwhile, who represented the bakery in the case, said the owners were "extremely pleased" with the dismissal.

"This is a great victory not just for my clients, but also for all of Haines Junction, residents and business owners alike," he told CBC News in an email.

"My clients have always maintained that this lawsuit was frivolous and vexatious, and part of a wider campaign aimed at disrupting one of the most important recurring social events in Haines Junction."