Left-open wine cooler focus of legal fight between homeowner and strata
A BC homeowner who inadvertently left open a wine cooler that leaked sued her strata for the costs to identify and remediate the leak.
Fei Ying Zhang sued the strata for a chargeback totalling $2,575.52.
Zhang claims the strata’s contractors did unnecessary work because they didn’t realize the leak came from the water cooler.
In response, the strata told the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal that the contractors followed industry standards and Zhang should be required to pay the chargeback amount.
According to the tribunal decision, during the time of the leak, on June 4, 2022, Zhang wasn’t residing in the unit. Her property manager discovered water pooling on the living room floor.
He mopped it up, but the water kept seeping from the kitchen island toward the living room. Zhang was informed of the leak, and then she called the strata emergency line, resulting in a plumber being sent to the home the same day.
Professionals who responded to the situation suggested that units below Zhang’s could be affected. Workers thought the leak came from heating or cooling pipes under the floor, so the water was turned off.
On June 8, another worker from a mechanical company assessed the situation. After using a thermal imaging camera and moisture meter, the worker traced the water back to the kitchen island and the wine cooler.
The worker’s notes said that “the cooler door had been left open, and the unit had iced up.”
At some point, the electricity was turned off, the ice melted, and water flowed into the living room.
While Zhang doesn’t dispute the facts in the case, her issue was with the contractor’s process, which led to identifying and remediating the leak. She argued that one of the contractors was unprofessional and that unnecessary expenses were incurred because they thought the leak was more significant than it was.
Ultimately, the tribunal disagreed with the homeowner and said that the strata acted appropriately, leaving her on the hook for the chargeback.
Who knew leaving a wine cooler open could lead to such a disaster?