The new owners of a piece of property on Vancouver’s Dunbar Street wanted the previous owners to pay for decontamination of the land once home to a gas station and a dry cleaners.
Qualex-Landmark Dunbar Limited Partnership and Qualex-Landmark Dunbar GP Ltd. filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court May 30. The property now numbered as 4464 Dunbar St. is the combination of 4410, 4424, 4426 and 4410 Dunbar, according to the court document.
From 1929 to 1970, 4464 Dunbar was home to a gas station, the claim said.
It said Home Oil owned the land from 1929 to 1974 and Imperial Oil from 1974 to 1983.
About 1950 to 1965, a dry cleaner operated at 4410 Dunbar, the claim said. From 1956 to 1978, the owners of the land were North American Life Assurance Company, Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada, Crown Life Insurance Company and Manulife.
In 1996, North American Life Assurance Company amalgamated into Manulife. And, in 2002, Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada was amalgamated into Desjardins. In 2013, Crown Life Insurance Company was amalgamated into Canada Life.
The claim alleges the gas bar, service station and dry cleaning operations left multiple contaminants, resulting it being designated a contaminated site under the Environmental Management Act.
The claim asserts Imperial Oil, Home Oil, Manulife, Desjardins and Canada Life are responsible for the property.
The suit seeks a court declaration that the site is contaminated, that Qualex-Landmark be reimbursed for remediation costs and various damages.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
