Successful battle
New Glasgow homeowners took on the province claiming that construction work on local school damaged their home
The owners of a New Glasgow home have taken on the province and won.
Karen Crowley and Bonnie Fraser, who were represented by lawyers with Patterson Law, successfully won their case against the province and have been awarded $260,000 to cover the cost of damages to their home and the costs associated with their legal battle.
The home at issue in the case is 319 George St. in New Glasgow which is located near New Glasgow Academy. The complainants contended that vibrations from the compactor used during demolition of the old New Glasgow Junior High School and construction of New Glasgow Academy caused damage to their home.
In a statement filed on their behalf by Patterson Law in 2014, they claimed it caused cracking in walls, ceilings, floorboards and in the fireplaces and chimneys of their home. They also claimed leaking and moisture and deformation of the floors, doorframes, windows and siding on the exterior of the building which weren’t there prior to the construction.
The province denied the demolition and construction work caused physical damage to the home.
The claimants had to prove that the construction caused the damage, which they successfully did for $30,000 worth of damage.
The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board had heard the case on April 23 and issued its decision April 30.
In her written decision, Dawna Ring wrote: “If a person is injuriously affected such that their home has been damaged to the amount of $30,000 […] as a community we do not expect them to bear the costs of $30,000 of repairs to their home without compensation. […] As part of the owners’ compensation we will collectively also pay their reasonable costs necessarily incurred to assert that claim.”