A seasonal Vernon couple embroiled in a decade-long legal battle with their Strata over planters on their deck have been awarded $44,800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a July 22 BC Supreme Court decision, Justice Briana Hardwick said it was \u201cabundantly clear\u201d that \u201cacrimony and personal grudges\u201d had seeped into the dealings with the Strata council over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case involves Richard and Leslie Chisholm, who in 2008 bought a unit on the top floor of the then brand new Strand condo building in Vernon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unit had large irrigated outdoor planters and was a significant factor in their decision to buy the condo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, just a couple of years after the building was complete, some owners started to report leaks in their ceilings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What followed was a series of acrimonious disputes, costly repairs, allegations of misconduct and unilateral acts by both sides, all of which resulted in the irrigation system to the unit not being turned on again for approximately a decade,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013, the irrigation system for the planters was turned off without the Chisholms\u2019 knowledge. As the couple live in Calgary, all their plants died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Strata KAS3310 attempted to deal with the roof issue, it was decided to keep the irrigation off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in 2015 the Chisholms installed their own irrigation system without the Strata\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move didn\u2019t impress the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis type of self-help conduct is very unhelpful in a strata living situation and is not encouraged,\u201d Justice Hardwick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, the Strata dealt with the leaking roof and eventually replaced every planter and the irrigation system except the Chisholm\u2019s by 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple bought their own planters instead, and paid for an engineering study to confirm they met technical specifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Hardwick notes this happened a decade after the irrigation to the patio was turned off by the Strata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In their court case, the couple argued the Strata had treated them unfairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice ruled many of the Strata decisions were justified but not all, saying the Strata had unfairly singled out the Chisholms in several ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While other condo owners got new planters, the Chisholms didn\u2019t. When the couple bought their own, they weren\u2019t allowed to use the crane the Strata had hired to install them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice said it was very significant that the couple had waited four years after the irrigation was turned on at other units to have theirs turned on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Chisholms are also appropriately described, I find, as sensitive and sometimes prone to hyperbole in describing the subjective impact of some of the interactions that have arisen as a result of this dispute,\u201d the Justice said. \u201cStill, the animosity and heightened emotions do not displace the Strata\u2019s obligation to act reasonably and without significant unfairness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice ruled the Strata pay the couple $16,800 to cover the cost of the planters they bought and $28,000 in damages to cover the four years they didn\u2019t have planters while their neighbours did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStated very plainly, the Chisholms lost the use of their rooftop planters, something I accept was objectively significant to the enjoyment of the Unit, for over 10 years including, very importantly, for over four years after their neighbours had irrigation restored, the Justice concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The judge said acrimony and personal grudges had seeped into the conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":9101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1680,541,543],"tags":[],"region":[322,323,324,325],"class_list":["post-9100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9100\/vernon-strata-on-hook-for-45000-after-losing-decade-long-legal-battle-over-planters\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Vernon strata on hook for $45,000 after losing decade-long legal battle over planters","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9100\/vernon-strata-on-hook-for-45000-after-losing-decade-long-legal-battle-over-planters\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9100\/vernon-strata-on-hook-for-45000-after-losing-decade-long-legal-battle-over-planters\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-5.02.52-PM.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-5.02.52-PM.png"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Bulmer"}],"creator":["Ben Bulmer"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-08-28T22:30:35Z","datePublished":"2026-08-28T22:30:35Z","dateModified":"2026-08-28T22:30:37Z"},"rendered":"