BC Woman Awarded Nearly $745K in Contractor Dispute by Court
A homeowner in British Columbia has been awarded nearly $745,000 in damages by the court after a legal dispute with a contractor who allegedly delayed her renovation project for 1.5 years without completing the work.
Beverly Wanklyn took legal action against her former contractor, Rene Bertrand, and his company Elite Life & Home Painting & Renovations, citing breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. She claimed that the money she paid was wrongly allocated to other projects.
The court decision stated, “After paying a total of $771,207.96 and waiting over a year and a half for the work to be done, she finally lost faith and hired a different contractor to finish the job.”
In January 2017, Wanklyn, living alone in a lakefront Kelowna home, hired Bertrand to build a guest suite in her 1924 home. Impressed by his demeanor and skills, she paid him $76,000 for the project, which was completed successfully. They then discussed renovating the rest of her home while she planned to be away.
Renovation Issues
The renovation included various tasks such as demolition, layout reconfiguration, deck replacement, and more. Bertrand quoted $379,575 for the work, receiving $327,245 upfront. However, upon her return from vacation in April, Wanklyn found very little progress and demanded a refund which was denied by Bertrand.
Throughout the renovation process, Wanklyn faced numerous delays, false claims about necessary repairs, and incomplete work. Eventually, she terminated the contract with Bertrand in 2018 and had to hire another contractor to complete the project for $995,025.41.
Court Claim
In a ruling, Milman found the defendants liable for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation, ordering them to pay $732,362 in damages to Wanklyn for services not rendered. Additionally, a $10,000 punitive damages payment was mandated.
The judge noted that while payments were mismanaged and misallocated, he did not believe there was intentional fraud but rather poor project management and incapability to see it through to completion.
