A legal dispute between two neighbours at a B.C. condominium about an overflowed toilet has ended with one being ordered to cover the cost of damages.
According to a Civil Resolution Tribunal decision issued Monday (May 31), Robin McLean is to pay Xiangfei Kong $1,270 after his toilet overflowed into the condo directly below him on July 20.
A plumber found an eight-foot blockage in McLean’s drain, made of floss and toilet paper, something the condo owner denies came from his son who was living in the apartment.
McLean alleged his son only has six teeth and has never used dental floss before. He said he purchased the condo a year and a half earlier with an already blocked toilet.
READ MORE: ‘Adult toilet training’ fights flushed wipes in Metro Vancouver
Tribunal member Leah Volkers expressed her doubts.
“I find the most likely scenario is that the blockage occurred as a result of dental floss being flushed down the toilet by either McLean or his son.”
Damages caused by flushing floss down the toilet are commonly known and the maintenance of the toilet was McLean’s own responsibility, Volkers said.
“McLean should have foreseen that his toilet would overflow because dental floss was being flushed down the toilet by either himself or his son,” she said.
The owner was found liable for negligence and ordered to pay the cost of Kong’s ceiling repair bill, including $4.83 in interest.
Jammed sewer pipes caused by an accumulation of wipes, hair, tampons and dental floss are estimated to cost Metro Vancouver $100,000 per year.
READ ALSO: Lower Mainland YouTubers claim to be Kelowna display toilet ‘poopers’
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