It's now up to three B.C. Court of Appeal judges to decide if the City of Prince George will recover the $175,000 it spent demolishing and cleaning up the ruins of the Columbus Hotel in 2008.
The B.C. Court of Appeal held a rare sitting in Prince George on Friday to hear an appeal by the City of Prince George in its lawsuit against former Columbus Hotel owner Rob Gibson.
City lawyer Sukhbir Manhas asked Court of Appeal judges Mary Saunders, Richard Low and Christopher Hinkson to overturn a summary judgment by the B.C. Supreme Court in favour of Gibson.
On Feb. 2, 2010 Supreme Court Justice J. Willcock ruled that because the city was in the process of seizing the property in a tax sale, the city -- not Gibson and Columbus Hotel 1991 Ltd. --was the owner of the property.
"The whole case hinges on whether the city is an owner. The [Local Government] Act isn't clear," Justice Saunders said. "Judgment is reserved, but we will endevour to make it not too long in the distant future.'
Manhas said the in the case of a tax sale, the owner of the land has one year to pay the outstanding taxes before the land title transfers to the purchaser -- in this case the city. Because that title transfer did not happen until Sept. 24, 2008 the site still belonged to Gibson at the time of the fire and clean up.
Gibson represented himself at the hearing and asked the judges to uphold the Supreme Court decision.
"They owned it, it's their problem," he said. "To me the [Local Government] Act is very clear. It's there in black and white: I had no claim to it."
For full coverage, see Saturday's edition of the Citizen.
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