Couple ordered to pay remediation costs
Keith Fraser
Province
Susan Aldred, with her chidlren, found the contamination problem on her property when she went to sell her home. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, PNG
A couple has been ordered to pay remediation costs arising from soil contamination near a buried oil tank on a West Vancouver property they sold to a mother of two.
Alexander and Lynda Colbeck claimed in court that they had no knowledge that the site on Mathers Avenue was contaminated when they sold the home to Susan Aldred in January 2001.
The couple argued that they undertook all appropriate inquiries and investigated the matter in order to minimize liability.
But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield has ruled that they had negligently misrepresented the situation to Aldred.
“What is clear is that they were warned about the possible problems associated with the presence of an oil tank and did nothing to avoid any problems that has arisen from its presence.”
By failing to examine the state of the tank over a two-year period, during which time leakage must have continued, the Colbecks contributed to the contamination, said the judge.
The issue arose when Aldred decided to sell the property in late 2007 and discovered the problem.
A contractor undertook work on the site and eventually billed Aldred for more than $200,000 in remediation costs.
She had initially signed a contract to sell the home for $1.57 million but after the contaminated site was discovered, she had to terminate the sale and eventually sold the home for $1 million.
The judge said that, although the Colbecks are on the hook for remediation costs, those costs would be assessed after a lawsuit is settled between Aldred and the contractor.
He declined to award Aldred other damages, such as general damages for discomfort, disappointment, anxiety and frustration arising from the case.
The Colbecks could not be reached for comment.
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