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- Owner of $5.2M Deer Lake house ordered to pay contractors $45k
Owner of $5.2M Deer Lake house ordered to pay contractors $45k
The owner of a “high-end” $5.2-million Deer Lake home has been ordered by the court to pay over $44,000 plus interest to contractors who did restoration work on the house.
Linda Drescher’s home was flooded in April 2017 while she was in Washington, after a hose bib failed. That caused a wall on the bottom floor to “rupture and water to spurt from the hole onto [Drescher’s] unsealed bluestone fireplace.”
On top of that, the flood destroyed hardwood flooring and fixtures on that floor.
Drescher’s insurer, Chubb Insurance, sent Belfor Property Restoration crews to her home for emergency restoration work. The original work, which cost over $21,000, was paid for by the insurer.
It was follow-up work where things got heated. According to a BC Supreme Court ruling, Drescher signed an agreement with Belfor and received the full payment for the work from Chubb. But finding deficiencies in the work, she only passed a bit over half of it to Belfor.
Belfor sent Drescher three invoices totalling $97,322.93, which Chubb paid to Drescher. But in October 2018, she only paid $51,161.47 of that money to Belfor.
Ultimately, Belfor filed a lawsuit against Drescher to recover the costs.
“Belfor points out that in situations such as the present case, the contractor can only repair the home in accordance with the scope of work approved by the insurer,” wrote Justice Emily Burke in her ruling.
“While the homeowner’s real complaint is with their insurer, Belfor notes that their frustration is often directed at the contractor engaged to repair the damage.”
The contractors argued to the court that the $44,661.46 withheld by Drescher was intended to “persuade Belfor to perform the out-of-scope work,” Burke noted.
The restoration company tried to address Drescher’s outstanding concerns with a “final scope of work” and completed that work in July 2019. But she still refused to pay, according to the ruling.
“There is no real dispute that the defendant has a high-end home constructed with high-quality materials in Deer Lake, Burnaby,” Burke wrote.
“While the house was constructed between 2010 and 2012, the defendant did not move into the house until the fall of 2015. … All witnesses agreed she has a ‘beautiful house’ with high-end furniture and fixtures.”
However, Burke found some of Drescher’s claims “difficult to accept.”
In particular, the justice pointed to a claim about replacing light fixtures that originally cost $800.
“Ms. Drescher’s evidence that new comparable light fixtures cost close to $15,000 is difficult to accept, despite her testimony that the original fixtures were, in effect, a ‘really good deal,’” Burke wrote.
She said there is “no doubt” that the restoration work was completed. And she noted that deficiencies raised by Drescher in 2019 had been completed as well.
When Drescher still declined to pay Belfor, the contractors reportedly sought details from her.
“Ms. Drescher did not provide [particulars], while continuing to refuse to pay the funds provided to her by Chubb for the scope of the repair work identified,” Burke said.
Workers did cause damage to a media console and its sideboard by dropping during restoration. And the company lost keys to the house.
But Burke noted the damage to the media console and other deficiencies she raised in court were covered by a release signed by Drescher, which stated she was satisfied with the repairs.
And with respect to the lost keys, Burke said the contractors covered the cost of re-keying the home by reducing the amount owing with a $1,500 credit.
“There is no doubt the defendant has very high standards and that her home is extremely important to her. While that may be the case, the law does not establish a standard of near perfection in order for a contractor to be paid,” Burke wrote.
“This is no doubt disappointing to the defendant, but the law demands ‘reasonable performance,’ not perfection. Anything more would be unworkable and place contractors in the unenviable position of potentially returning to worksites unendingly before being paid.”
Burke found Belfor had “largely restored” Drescher’s home to its pre-flood condition and approved the contractor’s claim to $44,661.46 plus annual interest of 18%.