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Discovery Bay Resort on Sunset Drive. (Photo Adrian Nieoczym)
By Adrian Nieoczym
The City of Kelowna is one of 12 parties being sued by a group of 159 condo and townhouse owners who bought units at the expensive Discovery Bay Resort on Sunset Drive.
The suit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, seeks compensation for structural deficiencies the plaintiffs allege put them out of pocket and reduced the value of their properties.
Structural problems with the 236-unit complex at 1088 Sunset Drive were discovered in the fall of 2005, about two-and-a-half years after construction was completed.
According to the statement of claim, the city withdrew the complex’s occupancy permits in October, 2005, but it took the developer, Pointe of View Marketing, 13 months before it began a project to deal with the problems in November, 2006.
In between those times, in July 2006, an engineering study found that Discovery Bay was not up to code and should not be occupied until remedial work was completed. As a result, many occupants decided to leave their units while the work was being carried out.
The city is being sued for allegedly failing to ensure the developer complied with the building code and other applicable laws before issuing building and occupancy permits.
The developer, along with the company’s owners and directors, are being sued for allegedly constructing sub-standard buildings, failing to disclose the problems as they were discovered, failing to carry out remedial work “in a proper and timely fashion,” and for not compensating property owners for their losses related to the structural problems.
Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, which administers a home warranty insurance program, is being sued for allegedly failing to live up to the terms of its warranty by not covering the expenses incurred by unit owners who had to find alternate accommodations.
The plaintiffs want to be compensated for lost property values, loss of use and enjoyment of their units, loss of rental income and the cost of living in temporary accommodations during the remediation project.
They are also seeking unspecified damages, interest and costs.
The plaintiffs allegations have not been tested in court and the defendants had not yet filed their statements of defence by the time of this post.
adrian@kelowna.com/(250)575-3517
Tags: discovery bay, Kelowna
