Pubdate: Fri, 14 Aug 2015
Source: Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Kamloops This Week
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1271
Author: Cam Fortems

INSURER MUST PAY IN GROW-OP FIRE

A B.C. Supreme Court Justice ruled an insurance company must pay out 
losses to a homeowner whose Westsyde house was burned in an arson 
following an RCMP raid on a marijuana grow operation.

Wawanesa Insurance Co. denied benefits to the homeowner, Steven 
Michael Davidson, arguing he knew about a sizeable grow-op in the 
basement of his home.

Davidson has a dated criminal record for forgery and possession of 
stolen property.

He was working at the time of the raid and arson as a contractor 
setting up illegal grow operations in the 100 Mile House area.

Davidson was on bail for assaulting his wife, charges that were later 
dropped, and was banned as part of a court order from being within 
100 metres of his Westsyde house, where she continued to live.

Davidson argued that since he was working away from Kamloops and 
banned from being at the home, he did not know about the grow-op.

While he did make a visit to his house, contrary to his bail order, 
Davidson testified he did not notice a basement door drywalled shut 
and painted over.

Instead, in a rage, he smashed goods at the house he believed were 
stolen by his wife, Tammy Boucher.

"This is a case close to the line," Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick said 
in her ruling.

"But, I accept the evidence of Mr. Davidson and find, as a fact, that 
he did not know of the grow operation or even the other activities 
relating to potentially stolen property or potentially illegal 
firearms over the relevant period of time leading up to the fire."

Fitzpatrick ordered Wawanesa to pay Davidson, who represented himself 
at the trial, $215,000 for loss of the home and contents.

The remaining amounts for the loss were paid to the bank that had a 
mortgage on the house at 4300 Westsyde Rd.

When police raided the house in April 2010, they found a grow 
operation with more than 600 plants, property they believed was 
stolen and illegal firearms.

One day later, the home was destroyed in an arson.

Wawanesa originally argued Davidson was responsible for the arson, 
but later dropped that contention.

The insurance company relied in part on wording in its policy that 
voids coverage in the event of marijuana production, whether or not 
the insured even knows about it.

But, Fitzpatrick said, there is no evidence the arson immediately 
following the raid had any relationship to the grow-op, despite the 
suspicious timing.

The insurer also obtained video shot in March 2010, shown in court, 
of Davidson discussing a visit to his home.

"Are you telling me she hasn't got the basement fired up again?" an 
unidentified male asks Davidson in the video.

"Not very well," he replies. "F-ing very pathetic what I seen down 
there, I finally went in there, you know, she showed me a couple 
plants, brought them up to me, up, you know up to the door . . . you 
know, they look pretty good, but there's not very many there . . . 
what the f-, not very many . . . Yeah, ha, I just got tired of the 
bullshit there, huh. So we agreed that she would be out in two months.

"I told her at the end of May that should be enough time to get her 
program finished, you know, get it up and running and finished, and 
then we, we'll . . . and I'll sell the F-ing house, get rid of it, 
get my headaches over, I get rid of her."

Davison argued "her program" referred to Boucher's psychiatric program.

Fitzpatrick said statements on the video could be backed by either 
the insurance company's or Davidson's story.
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