A woman suing a construction company in Quesnel Provincial Court for negligence and breach of contract will get a trial after all.
On Feb. 12, Judge Judith Doulis dismissed Robin Lawrence’s small claims case against Bradley Hoolaeff and Autumn Fencing and Construction when she failed to attend a pretrial conference.
Lawrence filed the lawsuit in Quesnel on May 23, 2023, seeking $35,360 in damages and fees for defective, deficient and incomplete work on a fence.
Her claim has not been proven in court.
In her supporting material, Lawrence described herself as “a middle-aged single woman on long-term disability, living with a significant back injury, major depressive disorder and anxiety.”
Doulis reversed her ruling on April 30, reinstating Lawrence’s claim, the defendant’s reply and counterclaim and referred the case immediately to a judicial case manager to schedule a three-day trial and pretrial conference.
A trial had been scheduled to begin last October, but Judge Sheryl Wagner gave priority to another case and adjourned the trial to the next day. However, the defendants’ lawyer, Jeremy Koch, contracted COVID-19 and the trial was postponed.
The judicial case manager issued a notice by email on Oct. 24 to reschedule the trial for March 3-5, with a pretrial conference on Feb. 12. However, the Oct. 25 notice, sent by the court registry, made no reference to the Feb. 12 pretrial conference.
Doulis said Lawrence had complied with all court procedures and practices in a timely and appropriate manner up to Feb. 12. She has also filed “voluminous evidentiary documents in support of her notice of claim” and her claim is worthy of investigation.
“I am satisfied her absence was due to inadvertence or oversight,” Doulis decided.
