The developer of a condo complex in the Logan subdivision is appealing a ruling that has halted construction of two apartment buildings.
In a ruling last month Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale ordered the numbered company, controlled by Falcon Ridge Development, to stop construction of the two four-storey apartment buildings.
But Whitehorse Condominium Board 95, which petitioned for the injunction, may have inadvertently put some of its members’ properties at risk.
Because the condo board’s governing document didn’t include plans for the construction of the apartment buildings, the developers had to get the written consent of all owners before it could make changes needed to legitimize the construction, Veale concluded.
The developer hadn’t done that, so Veale halted the construction of the two partially completed buildings.
But because the developer also failed to get written consent when it started the second phase of development, the title on 33 units in the complex could now could now be considered invalid.
Some of those units are still owned by the developer, but others have already been sold, which puts the mortgages and insurance policies that have been taken out on them into question.
The developer is appealing that ruling, but it will take months for the case to make its way through the court.
In the meantime the developer has filed a separate application to stay Veale’s ruling until the appeal is decided.
That would give both the developer and the owners time to sort out any potential problems with title, but it wouldn’t allow construction to start back up.
The developer is not asking to overturn the permanent injunction that is stopping them from finishing the buildings.
However, it is asking to suspend an order that the developer pay special costs to the condo board.
For its part, the condo board will be opposing both applications, said its lawyer, James Tucker.
The board is also pursuing a separate lawsuit.
It’s suing the developer for more than $1 million it claims it is owed in condo fees, fines and accrued interest.
Contact Josh Kerr at joshk@yukon-news.com