Part 17 published on 01/02/07
Truck not “stored” on Strata Lot. But No costs awarded to strata corporation because case of “public interest”
The plaintiff and the defendant are owners of adjoining strata lots. The statutory building scheme prevented trucks over ¾ ton from being “stored” on a lot other than in an enclosed garage or other suitable enclosed space. The defendant was employed by an electrical utility company. His duties included a call schedule which required that he park a large truck (more than ¾ ton) in the driveway of his strata lot for eight weeks per year.
The Court found that this did not constitute “storage” of the truck and accordingly did not offend the building scheme. The Court also found that the truck did not constitute a nuisance.
Although the strata corporation was also included as a respondent to the application, the Court declined to award any costs to the strata corporation because “this case approaches a public interest kind of a case, where the interest of the plaintiff is not solely limited to her private interest but can be seen as representative of the interests of others”.