Lawyers for City of Charlottetown seek appeal after court sides with 77-year-old homeowner
Gail Doucette's property was contaminated by oil that started leaking in 2013
The City of Charlottetown intends to appeal a court decision compensating a homeowner whose property was tainted by an oil spill in 2013.
The legal documents seeking leave to appeal are dated April 11.
They say Justice Terri A. MacPherson erred on several grounds in siding with Gail Doucette rather than the city.
Doucette, 77, has been living with the smell of fuel oil in her house for nine years, and couldn't sell it when she listed it in 2020 because of the contamination.
She and her family had lived in the home since the 1980s.
The damage was caused by an underground steel tank that began to leak on the site of the Sherwood Recreation Hall in 2013.
There's still oil underneath the basement of the recreation hall that can't be cleaned up, and the city had to install air vents to channel fumes away from the premises.
Last month, MacPherson ordered the city to pay Doucette $533,000 in damages, including buying her house for $375,000 and paying moving costs of $8,000.
The city has now asked for a stay of that ruling while it pursues an appeal.
The legal documents filed by the municipality's lawyers also say they will seek to have the city's legal costs reimbursed.