14.12 Correction Of Errors

CASE LAW

No Error Found in Land Surveyor’s Exercise of Judgment

In the underlying action, the purchaser of a strata lot claimed from the developer a purchase price abatement on the basis that the constructed lot differed from that shown on the draft strata plan by more than five per cent. The land surveyor had included the area of an internal staircase in the draft strata plan but excluded the internal staircase area when preparing the final plan, which therefore showed the area of the lot to be about six per cent less than the area depicted on the draft strata plan. The developer petitioned for an order under s. 14.12 of the Strata Property Regulation to correct what it said was an error on the final strata plan and to require the registrar to accept an amended final strata plan depicting the area of the unit as including the internal staircase. Uncontradicted expert evidence showed that, in deciding whether to include the area of an internal staircase in a strata plan, the land surveyor must exercise independent professional judgment. The expert found no error in the surveyor’s exercise of judgment. The court found no “error” within the meaning of s. 14.12 of the Regulation and dismissed the petition (Bogner Kerrisdale Developments Inc. v. 1224095 BC Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1289 (Chambers)).