Mike Dercach removed his neighbour’s fence, which he alleged crossed onto his property, and then turned to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal to claim thousands in damages.
Dercach told the court that he tore the fence down after nearly four months of waiting for his neighbours to obtain a survey that marked the boundary between their properties.
He filed a claim for thousands for loss of use of his property, landscaping costs, and mental distress, telling the court that he was subject to threats, harassment, intimidation tactics, and trespassing on his property from his neighbours.
The situation soon escalated in court.
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His neighbours, Gurdev Singh Bohgan and Kashmir Kaur Bohgan denied that the fence was crossing onto Dercach’s property and instead filed a counterclaim for $2,900 to replace it.
The Bohgans shared that the wall was built under the retaining wall that separated their properties and that they had taken steps to obtain a survey, but Dercach removed the fence before it had started.
They also noted that the complaint about the fence only arose three years after it had been built.
To appease their neighbour, the Boghans rebuilt the fence further from Dercach’s property. However, Dercach argued to the court that this was proof that the original fence was on his side of the property line.
The court decided in favour of the Boghans, recognizing that they had taken steps to de-escalate the situation.
Dercach had submitted a photo and video showing a string marking the property line but failed to provide a professional survey of the properties. The court decided this was insufficient to prove that the fence was on his property and dismissed his claims about the loss of use of his property and landscaping costs.
There was also no evidence submitted to support Dercach’s alleged mental distress, and the court dismissed this claim as well.
Finally, the court found that Dercach had no legal right to remove the Bohgans’ fence and that he had “wrongfully destroyed” the fence.
The court ordered Dercach to pay the Boghans for damages. While the counterclaim was filed for $2,900 for the fence materials and the cost of installation, receipts were only provided for the price of materials, amounting to $506.33.
Dercach was ordered to pay the Boghans $607.38, including $506.33 in damages, $26.05 in pre-judgment interest, and $75 in court fees.