Westcourt Place residents won't return home until the fall

Papers filed in a Windsor court Wednesday suggest residents of a downtown high-rise might not be able to return home until sometime in the fall. 

Sharon Strosberg — a partner at the Strosberg Sasso Sutts law firm handling a class-action lawsuit between Westcourt Place residents and the building's owner — explained that an affidavit filed on behalf of the building's owner "said they believe people would return in the fall."

"I don't have any information about when in the fall," she said. "Of course, that's their best information right now."

Approximately 200 residential tenants across 166 units in Westcourt Place — as well as about 30 commercial tenants — are still unable to return to their dwellings, following an accidental electrical fire that took place in the building's parking garage back in November.

Strosberg was in court Wednesday to file a motion requesting that residents be allowed to keep their belongings, rather than moving belongings at their own expense until residents can return. 

Though the motion has been adjourned until April 20, Westcourt's owner promised residents won't be forced to remove possessions from their units until the matter is dealt with in court. 

... We think it's the perfect case for a class action ...- Sharon Strosberg, Partner, Strosberg Sasso Sutts

"We provided the tenants with some breathing room, so that in the interim, they don't have to remove their possessions, they're not going to have to bear those costs," Strosberg said. 

In the meantime, Strosberg said residents are waiting to find out if the court "will decide whether this is an appropriate case to move forward as a class action."

"Of course, we think it's the perfect case for a class action, and many similar cases have been certified by the court," she said. 

A spokesperson for the building's owner said they won't comment on ongoing litigation, adding they hope to provide a "more fulsome update" in the coming weeks.