Man hurt in confrontation with neighbour awarded $217,500

Judge rejects notion that defendant was provoked, acted in self-defence

A Maple Ridge man who was injured during a confrontation with one of his neighbours has been awarded more than $200,000 in damages.

Before the altercation between William Joseph Rycroft and Nelson Rego (the defendant), Rego’s son and another boy had been confronted by a third man who told them to leave the area of a BMX bike park near Rycroft’s home, where they were playing.

The boys went back home and told Rego’s wife what had happened. A short time later, Rycroft, who had been advised that there may have been some damage to the area near the property, arrived home.

What happened next was a matter of “considerable contention” during the trial, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jim Williams said in his ruling on the matter.

The judge concluded that shortly before the July 2009 confrontation, Rycroft had entered the yard behind his residence and was walking at a moderate pace in the general direction of his own home when Rego, walking briskly, approached him.

“I accept that the plaintiff said words to the effect of ‘you must be the dad; I do not want kids playing there anymore,’” said Williams. “I find that, at that point, the defendant struck the side of the plaintiff’s head. The punch was of significant force and unexpected.

“As a consequence of the blow, the plaintiff went down in a forward direction, ending up on his knees. The defendant immediately applied some type of headlock to Mr. Rycroft from behind.”

The plaintiff suffered an injury to his left temple area as well as minor injuries to his arm, his elbow area and his hand, said the judge. Rycroft also incurred some injury to his knees.

The judge rejected Rego’s testimony that he had approached Rycroft in a benign and inoffensive manner and that the incident began when the plaintiff struck or pushed him. He rejected the notion that Rego was acting in selfdefence or had been provoked.

While what Rego did was wrong and warrants sanction, his actions represented a “foolish loss of temper and acting out,” added the judge.

“At the same time, this was not a planned, deliberate and calculated attempt to physically assault another person.”

Rego and his wife claimed that before and after the incident, Ry- croft had called Rego a “f...king Hindu,” but the judge found there was no evidence to back up that claim.

“To my mind, that seems to be an odd remark to have been made. Having observed Mr. Rego in the courtroom, I noted nothing about him that would suggest that he has the appearance traditionally associated with people from the Indian subcontinent.”

The judge awarded Rycroft a total of $217,500 in damages, including $100,000 for past income loss, $70,000 for pain and suffering, $45,000 for loss of earning capacity and $2,500 for aggravated damages.