One year after the hockey dorm fiasco on Eckhardt Avenue in Penticton, the lawsuits are piling up and it’s Penticton taxpayers that could be paying big.
Five companies, Avkon Construction, R & R Reinforcing, Grizzly Excavating Ltd, Task Construction and Geo Pac Inc., have filed notice of civil claims against Okanagan Elite, the company behind the project, and the City of Penticton.
Claims range from $145,000 to $561,000 and total more than $1.6 million. The selling price for the Ekchardt property last year was $925,000.
Because it’s before the courts, no one from the city of Penticton would comment publicly but mayor Dan Ashton maintains there is no liability on the city’s part.
He says this is an issue between the contractors and Okanagan Elite’s partners and has nothing to do with the city.
But Richard Covell, a lawyer who specializes in civil litigation, believes the city is partially liable since the property was still owned by the municipality.
“Let’s just say it’s going to be expensive whatever way you cut the cake,” said Covell. “Whether or not it proceeds through litigation, or whether or not there’s an overall settlement, you know at some stage somebody’s going to have to cut a cheque.”
No one denies this all started when Loren Reagan, the person behind Okanagan Elite, got involved.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
Shortly after CHBC News revealed Reagan had a history of financial debt, he left town. His whereabouts are still unknown.
His former partner Mike Elphicke previously told CHBC News he was unaware of Reagan’s past. Elphicke maintains he had nothing to do with the development.
“The City (of Penticton) allowed work by the subtrades to continue knowing that the land purchase had not been complete or finalized,” said Elphicke in a statement.
“We’ve retained…lawyers… to defend our position in this matter. We believe that we have a strong defense and we have no further comment.”
CHBC News contacted all five companies that filed the notice of civil claims. Several would not comment because it was before the courts.
CHBC News also tried finding out how much the City of Penticton has been spent in legal fees since the failed hockey dorm project but calls were not returned.
Comments