Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• CHM exercised its contractual discretion under clause 18 to not renew Ms. Lennon's live aboard status, which the Court found was not an automatically renewing agreement

• Persistent intoxication on the docks and an irreconcilable conflict with neighbouring float home owner Mr. Clarkes were the primary reasons for non-renewal, not her health condition, gender, or the slip and fall lawsuit

• The 2021 Schedule C language changed from "shall automatically renew" to "may be automatically renewed," and Ms. Lennon initialled and signed it, binding her to the revised discretionary terms

• Estoppel by convention failed because Ms. Lennon could not establish a shared mutual assumption of automatic renewal, as she knew from the outset that CHM held sole discretion

• The 2022 Moorage Agreement was found not to be unconscionable, as Ms. Lennon was an educated consumer with access to legal advice and no deadline was imposed on her to sign

• CHM was awarded transient moorage fees of $162,328.74 (calculated to February 2026), a permanent injunction stayed six months, and solicitor-and-own-client costs

The purchase of Seascape and the moorage arrangement

In December 2015, Amy Rebecca Lennon purchased Seascape, a two-storey, two-bedroom, 40-foot custom coastal seacraft houseboat, for $425,000. The vessel was moored at berth F07 at Coal Harbour Marina in downtown Vancouver, at the foot of Stanley Park. Ms. Lennon's purchase was conditional on her being satisfied with the marina moorage agreements, a marina survey, and receiving CHM's written consent to transfer the live aboard lease from the previous owner. Before removing the subject clauses, she met with Steve Varley, then general manager of CHM, and completed an application for moorage. She understood that while the marina had discretion to renew, her live aboard status would be renewed annually so long as she paid her bills and remained in good standing. The sale completed on January 12, 2016, and the parties entered into the 2016 Moorage Agreement the following day, granting Ms. Lennon a license to moor Seascape at berth F07 with "Prorated Liveaboard Annual Moorage" status.

The contractual framework and renewal process

The moorage renewal each year involved two separate processes. First, in December, CHM would send correspondence to its live aboard clients asking whether they wished to renew their live aboard status for the following calendar year, which required a City of Vancouver Live Aboard License. Second, each spring CHM would send out renewal notices for moorage itself, governed by a Moorage License Agreement Schedule C running from April 1 to March 31. The original Schedule C language from 2016 to 2020 stated that each moorage term "shall automatically renew" subject to the licensee being in good standing. However, in the spring of 2021, this language was changed to "may be automatically renewed." Ms. Lennon initialled and signed the 2021 Schedule C without noticing the change. Crucially, clause 18 of the 2016 Moorage Agreement provided that no person may live aboard without CHM's prior written consent, which CHM could withhold at its "sole discretion."

Life at the marina and escalating tensions

Ms. Lennon began living on Seascape in January 2016. In August 2016, she suffered a seizure at the marina, followed by a second seizure in March 2017, leading to a diagnosis of epilepsy. Her condition stabilized by summer 2017 and she stopped wearing a life vest on the docks, though she did not formally advise staff she had been medically cleared. Beginning in the summer of 2020, she experienced an escalating conflict with her nearby neighbour, Greg Clarkes, who demanded she install window coverings and threatened "total war." She reported the dispute to then-general manager Mr. Varley via email. She also had a strained interaction with another neighbour, Judith Milliken, which she reported to marina management. In January 2020, Ms. Lennon slipped on ice at the marina and broke her right wrist, eventually filing a personal injury lawsuit against CHM in December 2021, which was settled in September 2023 for approximately $94,000.

CHM's decision not to renew and the new general manager's approach

Odai Sirri became general manager of CHM in late November 2021, replacing the retiring Mr. Varley. Upon starting, Mr. Sirri met with staff individually and as a group, and all staff members raised concerns about Ms. Lennon, particularly regarding persistent intoxication on the docks, complaints about nudity, and ongoing tensions with Mr. Clarkes that negatively impacted the marina environment. Mr. Sirri also reviewed emails Ms. Lennon had sent about her disputes with neighbours. He determined the situation was beyond repair and decided not to renew the live aboard status for both Ms. Lennon and Mr. Clarkes. However, due to significant staff shortages caused by a vaccine mandate that resulted in about half the staff leaving, the office was delayed in processing renewals. Ms. Lennon was not informed of the non-renewal decision until May 25, 2022, when her own inquiry triggered Mr. Sirri's response. He offered her a recreational moorage agreement as a compromise.

The 2022 Moorage Agreement and its aftermath

Ms. Lennon met with Mr. Sirri on May 31, 2022, seeking an explanation for the non-renewal. Mr. Sirri repeatedly told her nine times that the decision was at CHM's discretion and would not be reversed. He offered her a new recreational moorage agreement, which did not include live aboard status and limited overnight stays to 59 nights per year. Feeling she had no alternative place to moor her float home, Ms. Lennon signed the 2022 Moorage Agreement on June 9, 2022, paying $10,741 in moorage fees — approximately $2,000 less than for live aboard moorage fees. On August 31, 2022, Mr. Sirri notified her that her moorage would not be renewed beyond March 31, 2023, and she should vacate by that date. Ms. Lennon did not vacate, and Seascape has remained moored at berth F07 without payment of moorage fees since June 2023.

Key legal issues and the Court's analysis

The Court addressed several pivotal legal questions. On the issue of automatic renewal, Justice Chan found that the 2016 Moorage Agreement and the 2021 Schedule C did not contain any compulsory automatic renewal term. The use of "may" in the 2021 Schedule C meant renewal was discretionary, and clause 18 clearly granted CHM sole discretion over live aboard status. On the duty of good faith, the Court applied the framework from Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, 2021 SCC 7, and found that CHM's discretion was exercised for a purpose connected to its grant — ensuring the suitability of clients for the marina community. The Court rejected Ms. Lennon's arguments that the non-renewal was based on her health condition, gender, or retaliation for the slip and fall lawsuit, finding instead that the primary reasons were her persistent intoxication and irreconcilable conflict with Mr. Clarkes. The Court also rejected estoppel by convention, finding no evidence of a shared mutual assumption between the parties that moorage would be automatically renewed. The 2022 Moorage Agreement was found not to be unconscionable, as Ms. Lennon was an educated, financially capable individual who had time and opportunity to seek legal advice before signing.

The ruling and outcome

The Court ruled decisively in favour of Coal Harbour Marina Ltd. on all counts. Justice Chan declared that Ms. Lennon no longer has a valid moorage agreement with CHM and that her failure to remove Seascape or pay moorage fees constitutes private nuisance and trespass to property. A permanent injunction was granted against Seascape's continued presence at the marina, stayed for six months to allow Ms. Lennon to relocate the vessel, provided she pays the outstanding moorage fees. CHM was awarded damages for unpaid moorage based on transient moorage fees from April 1, 2023, to the date of judgment — calculated at $162,328.74 up to February 9, 2026 — less any amounts already paid, including the $2,557 Ms. Lennon paid in June 2023. Costs on a solicitor-and-own-client basis were also granted to CHM pursuant to clause 29 of the moorage agreements. The exact final amount of transient moorage fees owing to the date of judgment (April 10, 2026) was not specified in a precise dollar figure in the decision beyond the $162,328.74 calculated to February 2026.