A man whose boat was damaged after being hit by a strata’s parking gate won’t be getting any compensation for the incident, the Civil Resolution Tribunal has ruled.
Jason Archondous was towing his boat while leaving the Chilliwack property on April 23, 2022, according to a July 17 decision. He was driving across the gated space before stopping to wait for traffic to clear. At that moment, the gate closed and hit the boat, damaging the fiberglass.
Archondous claimed the gate at Cottages at Cultus Lake was not installed or operating properly, and sought $3,516.80 for the cost of repairs.
For its part, the strata said Archondous didn’t exercise reasonable care in towing the boat. It told the tribunal the gate was installed and operating properly and that Archondous’ own actions caused the damage.
On reviewing the evidence, tribunal member Christopher Rivers said had Archondous not moved the boat, sensors would have reopened the gate.
The gate had three different sensors:
- first, the gate opening was triggered by an in-driveway sensor 40 feet before the gate. The sensor was activated when a vehicle drove over it while leaving the strata property. The gate opened by swinging back towards the vehicle, allowing the vehicle to then pass through. Once open, the gate would initially remain open for 10 seconds;
- second, the gate had infrared sensors located beside its base. These sensors were mounted at a height of 14 inches on one side and 10 inches on the other side. If the infrared beam was broken, the timer would reset for a further 10 seconds once the beam was re-established; and,
- third, the gate had an impact sensor that would cause the gate to automatically reopen if it hit an object while closing.
Rivers said Archondous drove the truck through the gate and came to a stop.
“It is undisputed that their boat and trailer remained in the open gate’s space,” Rivers said. “Mr. Archondous says they waited for traffic to clear from the road, and when they drove forward, the gate began to close, hitting their boat.”
The strata said that by driving forward while the gate was closing, Archondous prevented the impact sensor from working.
“The boat’s forward motion caused the gate to jam against the fiberglass, preventing the gate from reopening, and damaging the boat as Mr. Archondous drove forward,” Rivers said.
The strata said if Archondous had remained stationary, the gate would have impacted the boat’s side, and then reopened, causing little or no damage.
Rivers said it was unreasonable for Archondous to proceed without checking their mirrors to ensure their boat and trailer were clear of the gate.
The tribunal also found it was unnecessary for a vehicle to clear the gate while waiting for traffic.
“I find that in the normal course of operation, the gate would automatically reopen on contact with another object,” Rivers said. “So, I find if the gate began to close, a reasonable driver would wait for it to reopen before driving forward.”
Rivers found the strata was not negligent and dismissed the case.
