A legal fight at the Civil Resolution Tribunal resulted in one BC resident claiming thousands in damages from their neighbour following a mishap involving cat poop.
DH told the tribunal that GO placed cat droppings at her feet and kicked them into her hard. She made another claim that GO ripped off and stole a charge-port cover from her electric car during the same incident.
In total, DH claimed $5,000 as compensation for vehicle damage, yard cleanup, and the stress and anxiety that arose from the incident.
GO denied liability, saying that GO left the cat poop on their property and that they merely returned the droppings to the owner.
“They admit to kicking the droppings out of frustration,” the tribunal decision states.
It adds that GO admitted to taking the charger cover but intended to return it and didn’t do so based on a lawyer’s advice. Finally, they said that DH’s claims were unreasonable for damages.
Here’s what happened and what the tribunal decided.
Both parties occupy different sides of a duplex. Around March 15, 2023, GO began removing animal droppings from their side of the duplex’s front garden, placing them on DH’s side.
DH owns a cat, which she let outside a few times a week during the dispute. GO explained that the cat’s droppings caused the dispute. Something GO wasn’t happy about was witnessing the cat use their front garden as a litter box on at least one occasion. DH didn’t deny that claim, but she said GO also had droppings from their dogs and cats.
“I find it unlikely that the respondent would undertake the unpleasant task of placing animal droppings in the applicant’s yard without a sincerely held belief about the droppings’ origins. Given that the applicant let her cat out, the proximity of the parties, and the respondent’s submission of seeing the cat during the act, I find it likely that at least some of the droppings originated from the applicant’s cat,” the tribunal said.
DH and GO disagreed on the quantity of the droppings. DH claimed that GO left “30 or more pieces every few days for two weeks,” while GO said DH was exaggerating.
In response, DH put some droppings on GO’s front mat.
On April 2, 2023, GO and his spouse came home to find the droppings. The tribunal’s decision said they then gathered the droppings and knocked on DH’s door. GO dropped the poop at her feet, and the tribunal states that “unsurprisingly, the parties had an unpleasant verbal confrontation,” which also included GO kicking some or all of the droppings into DH’s yard. GO says that DH pushed him, but the tribunal dismissed that claim.
After DH told GO to leave, GO complied but, on the way back, took the charge port cover from DH’s car and damaged the area around it. DH called the cops, who arrested and charged GO with mischief. The Crown “stayed or withdrew the charges,” and the two parties are no longer neighbours.
DH provided an invoice for the car damage, which was $3,117.25, and ordered GO to pay that amount. GO had to pay DH $3,523.22, which was for damages and tribunal fees. DH’s other claims were dismissed.