Partner Emily L. Hansen and NST alum Edith Chen acted for Ming Sun Benevolent Society in its successful claim against a former neighbour, Philippine Women Centre of B.C. (“PWC”), relating to damage to Ming Sun’s building, as well as successfully defending Ming Sun against both a mirror-image claim by PWC alleging damage to PWC’s building and a claim by the purchaser of PWC’s property relating to the demolished PWC building and alleged business losses.
Ming Sun and PWC were the owners of neighbouring properties located near Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. In 2013, a brick veneer on Ming Sun’s building failed and the adjacent wall of PWC’s building collapsed inwards. Ming Sun argued that the failure of the brick veneer was caused by water leaking from PWC’s roof. As a result of that collapse, the Ming Sun building was evacuated, and Ming Sun lost its rental income and was unable to fund repairs to its building, which was eventually demolished in 2023.
After a 26 day trial, on June 11, 2025, the BC Supreme Court granted judgment in favour of Ming Sun, in the amount of $1,537,740.26, less 15% for contributory negligence, reported here. The Court found that PWC committed nuisance and was negligent in relation to water discharged from the roof of the PWC building on to the Ming Sun building, and that this caused damage to Ming Sun’s premises which resulted in the brick veneer collapse, which led to the closure and eventual demolition of Ming Sun’s building. The damages awarded included lost rental income; expenses incurred in attempting to protect, preserve, and re-open the building; demolition costs; and costs associated with Ming Sun’s efforts to redevelop its property into a social housing development. The Court dismissed the counterclaim in its entirety, having found that the collapse would not have taken place had PWC properly maintained its roof drainage.
