Court orders condo owners to sell following complaints of abusive behaviour
The court battle between a Burnaby, B.C., couple and their condo board has ended with a court order for them to sell their unit and vacate it within the month.
Over the course of the proceedings, neighbours and those who used to live near the couple in the Parkcrest Apartments testified that Barry Linden and Ronald Thibodeau were loud, vulgar and used intimidation tactics on them.
Previous order breached
A B.C. Supreme Court judge found the pair breached an order handed down in April 2016 that they stop communicating or visiting with, or uttering obscene, abusive or threatening comments to, members of the condo's strata corporation, their families or guests.
Strata corporations are the legal bodies that own and manage the common property of condominums in B.C.
The pair were also restrained from vandalizing common property, yelling, screaming or singing past 8 p.m. and from leaving dog feces anywhere on the common property of the 95-unit building.
Because of the breach, the property at 109-5932 Patterson Ave. in Burnaby must be listed for sale.
"I think the behaviour speaks for itself," said A.J. Chang, the lawyer representing the strata corporation. "The court certainly found it was extreme … it's not an order the court does lightly."
Owner accused of lurking, fines unpaid
The pair had received $3,400 in fines by the strata, none of which were paid.
In one case, a resident living near the pair said Linden would lurk outside her door and eavesdrop. The court heard Linden also followed her to a restaurant, stood a short distance away and stared at her.
Thibodeau appeared in court in 2016 and claimed he and Linden were "well-liked" by the residents in the building, but neither defendant offered any evidence during the proceedings.
CBC News was unable to contact Thibodeau or Linden to comment on the case.
According to the judge's decision, if the unit isn't sold by June 3, the strata will take over the sale and the RCMP will arrest Linden and Thibodeau.
