A few young retirees who won a small claims lawsuit against their neighbors still decided to move after the verdict because their relationships had not improved.
“We didn’t have any problems with anyone, but with them it was hell,” summarizes Jean-Pierre Lafleur.
He and his wife Lucie Rolland, owners of a house in Repentigny since 1986, have had disputes with their neighbors Christelle Bérubé and Patrice Mireault since they arrived in the neighborhood a decade ago.
In 2019, after consulting with an attorney, they finally decided to contact the small claims department in hopes that the dispute would be resolved.
Repeated disruptions
“I saw no other way out. They damaged four cars, two fences and my wife’s flower arrangement behind them…” lists Mr. Lafleur.
The tires on Mr. Lafleur’s car had lost air twice. However, no charges were filed in this case. Cigarette butts and maggots were repeatedly found in her driveway because trash had accumulated near her home, as we read in a ruling handed down last year at the Joliette courthouse.
Piles of rubbish were found in several places on the land of Christelle Bérubé and Patrice Mireault. Courtesy of Jean-Pierre Lafleur
The couple even had a frost protection fence installed between the two entrances “to prevent intrusion by neighbors and their children, to serve as a barrier against wind-borne trash and to best protect their vehicles,” they say.
However, Ms. Bérubé and Mr. Mireault did not clear the snow from their temporary shelters near the fence. For three years, snow fell into the space between the shelter and the fence and damaged it.
The neighbors’ snow destroyed Jean-Pierre Lafleur’s fence. Courtesy of Jean-Pierre Lafleur
At other times, neighbors went to their property to pick up their cat or balloons, for example.
Projectors and cameras were also installed toward Mr. Lafleur and Ms. Rolland’s home. So they had to buy opaque curtains to maintain their privacy.
victory
The neighbors initially turned to mediation. However, the two couples could not come to an agreement.
At trial, Jean-Pierre Lafleur and Lucie Rolland ultimately won their case. Her neighbors were ordered to pay nearly $10,000 for “repeated, unusual and persistent neighborhood disturbances.” “I was waiting for the outcome of the verdict. I thought it would calm down. But it wasn’t any better…” sighs Mr. Lafleur.
Judge Landry expressed similar concerns in his ruling. “The court sensed that the defendants did not want to make amends or apologize for anything, either for themselves or for the children. For Mr. Mireault, it is Mr. Lafleur who is causing trouble, even when the evidence shows otherwise,” he said.
Mr. Lafleur and Ms. Rolland finally made the decision to sell their home shortly thereafter.
“We were disgusted, we were no longer capable,” says the pensioner from the Société de transport de Montréal on the phone.
The couple has since moved and are much happier in their new neighborhood. “We are doing well, we have a nice big house and we are halfway between our two children,” says Mr. Lafleur happily.
For her part, Christelle Bérubé claims that she “received the verdict very badly”. ” [Le juge] “That was very unfair and took no account of what we told the court,” she believes.