Legal dispute means Shuswap Lake development still empty 16 years later
More than 15 years after a group of business people got together with the plan to develop a strip of waterfront property on Shuswap Lake, only one cabin exists and the handful of business partners are embroiled in bitter litigation.
The plan had been to subdivide the 40-acre parcel at Fowler Point on the west side of Seymour Arm into 40 strata units, however, only one log cabin exists and the person who built it, Dave Cooney, is suing his business partners.
According to a Feb. 10 B.C. Supreme Court judgement, Cooney launched the case against Purely Canadian Log Homes, a holding company owned by Cooney and Colin Haworth and Brent Thors, along with two Alberta-numbered companies.
In 2007, the holding company bought the 40 acres with a plan to subdivide it. The parcel is one lot of a strata, and remained undeveloped.
According to the decision, Cooney, who owns 33 per cent of the share, made an informal agreement with his business partners whereby he would pay all costs of getting approval to subdivide the property into 40 strata lots and built a road on the property.
In the deal, Cooney would get to build a log house on a piece of the land that would eventually become his subdivided plot.
His business partners deny this was the agreement.
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The decision said in 2010 he completed a road at the cost of $40,000 to $50,000 and the following year began building his home.
In 2012, a 2100-square-foot log cabin was finished at a cost of approximately $110,000.
However, when the business partners found out Cooney was building himself a log cabin, they removed him as a director of the company and he no longer had access to the bank accounts.
In the midst of this, the 40-unit subdivision was rejected and the developer was only allowed six lots.
The business partners then decided they should sell the land to the strata corporation, who said it was interested in the sale.
When Cooney got wind his business partners wanted to sell the land to the strata, he took legal action against them and registered a "Certificate of Pending Litigation" against the property.
The strata then said it didn't want to be embroiled in the legal battle and wasn't interested in the land now that it had a Certificate of Pending Litigation registered against it.
In his legal suit, Cooney argued the business partners should transfer a portion of the land to him and he's also seeking an injunction to stop the business partners from selling the land.
The business partners argued Cooney breached the agreement by failing to obtain approval to subdivide the land and provide services to each lot.
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Despite filing his court case in 2019, the decision said Cooney had made no effort to move the litigation forward.
He never even served the business partners with the civil claim or the Certificate of Pending Litigation.
In order to sell the land, the business partners launched a court challenge to have the Certificate of Pending Litigation removed.
The decision said Cooney then made "overtures" that he wished to buy the property from his business partners.
The partners called off their lawyers and waited for an offer.
"Despite a number of requests and reminders from the (partners') counsel, and despite assurances from the (Cooney's) counsel that an offer was imminent, no offer was received," Justice Gary Weatherill said in the decision.
The partners then continued with their legal fight.
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However, one month later in the fall of 2022, Cooney made them an offer.
The business partners found it "unacceptable."
In the decision, Justice Weatherill parses through the legalities of the situation.
"Given that (Cooney) has taken no steps in the litigation since June 6, 2019, prejudice to the (partners) is presumed," the justice said.
Cooney argued he wanted to make an offer to buy the property but needed to first sell other properties first in order to do so. He also said COVID-19 caused delays.
The business partners argued that if Cooney removed the Certificate of Pending Litigation they could sell the property and the situation would be over.
Justice Weatherill agreed.
"(Cooney) has not provided an acceptable explanation for the delay in prosecuting his claim," the justice said. "If the Certificate of Pending Litigation remains on title, the (partners) will be prejudiced by being unable to negotiate with the strata corporation for the sale of the property."
Ultimately, the justice removed the Certificate of Pending Litigation allowing the property to be sold.
However, the lengthy court battle will no doubt continue as the money from the sale will go into a trust and the handful of owners will then have to decide how much they each get.
In the meantime, the strip of lakeshore sits largely undeveloped.
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