A British Columbia girl who unsuccessfully sued her downstairs neighbour final fall for making an excessive amount of noise has now failed in a bid to sue her upstairs neighbour for being too loud.
B.C.’s Civil Decision Tribunal rejected Linda Woo’s declare looking for $5,000 in damages for misplaced productiveness and medical bills from upstairs neighbour Lorenzo Bruno. The tribunal as an alternative ordered Woo to pay Bruno $50 in nuisance damages for her “unreasonable ceiling-tapping and cupboard-slamming” in response to the noises.
The dispute started shortly after Bruno moved into the strata constructing in July 2022. Since that point, Woo lodged greater than 300 noise complaints with the constructing’s strata council and police, who twice described the noises as her neighbour “simply going about his life,” in accordance with the tribunal’s resolution final week.
Woo proceeded with a lawsuit claiming “near-daily unreasonable noise” from her upstairs neighbour, together with stomping, dragging furnishings, loud friends and working home equipment throughout quiet hours.
Bruno filed a counterclaim, arguing Woo’s fixed complaints to the strata and police amounted to harassment for which he was entitled to compensation.
The tribunal had dismissed an identical $5,000 declare from Woo final October, when she alleged noise from her downstairs neighbour triggered damage to her dignity, lack of enjoyment of her residence, and psychological and bodily struggling.
‘Merely no noise’
To help her declare in opposition to Bruno, Woo submitted audio and video recordings of the alleged noise from Bruno’s apartment, instructing the tribunal to take heed to the recordings “with earbuds and with the quantity at most,” in accordance with tribunal member Megan Stewart.
“A number of the recordings are fully silent, which suggests the information might have been corrupted, or there was merely no noise,” Stewart wrote.
“I discover that of these recordings the place noise could be heard, the bulk replicate solely very faint or muffled single-impact noises that seem to replicate on a regular basis dwelling, or comfortable background buzzing.”
Woo additionally submitted recordings of telephone calls with police and officer attendance stories, nevertheless “not one of the stories say there was unreasonable noise,” in accordance with the tribunal.
In a single recorded name with police, Woo admitted she “poked” her ceiling and slammed her cabinet in response to alleged noise from Bruno’s suite, “in order that he would perceive” the annoyance.
“I discover this deliberate noise was doubtless loud sufficient to trigger a disturbance,” Stewart wrote, ordering Woo to pay Bruno $50 for the disruption.
The tribunal couldn’t equally corroborate Woo’s claims that noises from Bruno’s apartment constituted a nuisance.
“Although I settle for the noises Ms. Woo hears trouble her, I don’t agree that on an goal foundation she has proven they rise to the extent of negligence or nuisance,” Stewart wrote.
“Dwelling in a strata constructing includes some extent of give and take amongst neighbours with regards to noise and different potential nuisances,” she concluded, dismissing the declare.
