LOWER SOUTH RIVER: The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) have drastically increased compensation to a couple of Antigonish County landowners.
From the original $70,000 that was awarded to Kevin Partridge and his common-law spouse Jane DeWolfe in 2019, the 757 per cent increase came as a result of the case being overturned in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
“The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal remitted this case back to the (UARB) to assess damages determined to be caused by flooding resulting from the construction of the province’s works as part of a bridge replacement project,” UARB member Richard Melanson said in his March 24 decision. “The (UARB) has determined the claimants sustained damages for injurious affection as result of this flooding.”
Recently $595,000 was deposited into the couple’s account.
On Oct. 3, 2011, the province expropriated an easement over lands located at what is now known as 5 South Harbor Lane in Lower South River. The land was located on the east bank of the South River, which is downstream from and near a bridge on Highway 104, which spans the river.
The property is legally owned by Kevin Partridge and he lived in a log home on the property with his common-law spouse Jane DeWolfe for over 40 years. Their claim related to the replacement of the old Highway 104 bridge and the construction and use of a temporary bridge.
Partridge operated a sole proprietorship on the parcel of land from 2008 to 2012, with the assistance of DeWolfe, under the business name Roaming Restorations.
From Oct. 5, 2011 to Jan. 12, 2014, the claimants suggested there were nine flood events which they documented, four of which flooded their house.
The province contested virtually every aspect of their claim, and after a lengthy hearing involving 20 witnesses, and a large number of documents, photographs and videos, the UARB assessed the evidence and determined the property owners were entitled to compensation of $70,469.80.
“One of the issues the (UARB) addressed in the 2019 decision was whether flooding on the property which occurred after construction of the temporary bridge began was caused by that construction,” Melanson said. “The (UARB) held the claimants had failed to establish that the flooding was caused by the temporary bridge work.”
However, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal disagreed and ordered the UARB to review the matter once again to flood damages.
DeWolfe and Partridge filed a claim with damages upwards of $1.3-million including; $35,000 for equipment; $402,000 for lost future income from the restoration business, $406,000 for the loss of value to the property and $518,000 in interest.
After the UARB re-evaluated the matter, it was determined Partridge and DeWolfe would now be entitled to damages of $210,000 for the loss of their business and $153,722 for the loss in value of their home, plus applicable interest from Oct. 29, 2011, onward.