Homeowner’s $27-K water-bill dispute resolved

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2018 (2772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dispute over a $27,000 water bill has been settled after a two-month court battle.

The owners of a St. Vital home took their case to court after they were left on the hook for a $27,247 bill for a vacant property that had its water shut off six months before they bought it.

Azhar Mubeen and his wife, Shaffaq Asif, argued they shouldn’t have been forced to pay the bill because they didn’t use the water. The Manitoba ombudsman investigated, ruled the bill was unfair and recommended the city change its water meter-reading policies.

Mubeen wanted Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench to order the City of Winnipeg to give them their money back.

He confirmed Friday the matter has been dealt with and he was “satisfied” with the city’s settlement, but couldn’t go into any other details because the terms of the agreement are confidential.

The dispute was resolved after an Oct. 15 court appearance involving Mubeen and a city lawyer, court records show. The case was noted as having “been resolved,” and no future court date was set.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Deborah McCawley noted on Oct. 15 that a notice of discontinuance was to be filed, which would formally end the legal proceeding. As of Friday, that had not been done, and a city spokeswoman maintained the case is still before the court.

When asked about the case and whether administration will follow the ombudsman’s recommendations about its water meter-reading policies, a city spokeswoman said the city couldn’t comment because the case is still before the court.

She reiterated that position in response to a Free Press inquiry that included details from the court file, including information stating that the matter was resolved.

“As previously mentioned, we will not be commenting, as this matter is still before the courts,” city communications officer Tamara Forlanski said in an email.

In October 2016, Mubeen bought the property at 11 Blenheim Ave. in his wife’s name. He planned to demolish it and build a new home. City records show the previous owner had the water shut off in April 2016. City employees didn’t take a meter reading when it was shut off.

Mubeen took the broken meter in for a reading in January 2017, and had to pay the exorbitant bill in order to sell the property in September 2017.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay