Both sides pursued legal action, and the court ruled that since the Nuu-chah-nulth had claimed that this was part of their traditional territory, until that claim was resolved, no development could occur on the whole of Meares Island.
The legal dispute between both parties led to a court ruling that as long as the Nuu-chah-nulth's ancestral land claim remained unresolved, development on the entirety of Meares Island could not take place.