Published: April 16, 2009 6:00 PM By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star
The Vernon resident has endured what he calls “20 months of hell” because his home in the 1500 block of 18th Avenue is cracking, re-cracking, sinking and shifting. Shadlock believes the only reason his home, which he purchased in the spring of 2005, is starting to move, break and fall apart is because of the City of Vernon’s main water line. And Shadlock says he’s getting no help from the city or from insurance companies, which all have denied his claim. “There are two natural ravines on either side of the neighbourhood with a seasonal creek that’s 50 feet below the foundation level. There’s no other source of water other than the City of Vernon’s main water line,” said an exasperated Shadlock, who shared his woes with media Wednesday morning.
For two years after moving into his home, Shadlock and his family noticed no problems, and he said there weren’t any issues since the house was built in the early 1980s. But in July, 2007, he and his son started to notice some cracks inside and outside the home. Then, in September ‘07, Shadlock said an eight-foot section of his main support wall in the family’s TV room, buckled and blew off. Shadlock called the insurance companies and the city. Four months later, on Dec. 21, 2007, the water line broke, sending what Shadlock calls a 50-foot geyser into the air, spraying water and pavement everywhere. The line would break again, he said, on July 25, 2008.
He called in a contractor last year to repair several of the cracks, but lines inside and outside the home have started to re-appear. He’s been told by insurance adjustors these are “drywall cracks.” “Drywall cracks? These are severe stress cracks,” said Shadlock, who figures he’s spent more than $5,000 of his own money to fix the problems. He takes reporters for a tour of his house, which rests on a quiet, 17-home cul-de-sac. Outside the main door, Shadlock pulls out his level and shows a gap between the wall and roof beside an entrance to the home. Inside, he puts his hand in a gap between the top of a bedroom door and the door frame, a door which engineers have told him is square.One leg of his 20-year-old son’s bed sits on a two-by-six piece of plywood, an inch-and-a-half high, to make it level with the floor.
Like a parlour trick – though nobody is laughing – Shadlock pulls out a single inline skate wheel in the kitchen and places it on the floor. Just places it down and removes his fingers. Reporters watch as the wheel begins rolling east, without a push, towards the outside, and picks up speed as it rolls about six feet before running into the water cooler. The kitchen corner has severely dropped from the rest of the home. The same trick is repeated in his son’s bedroom, where the ensuite toilet is now resting on an angle. The floor in the TV living room, which is, literally, a sunken room, is in the shape of a moon, as corner-to-corner, it’s out by two inches. Outside, Shadlock’s deck has already been damaged once by shifting. Now, you can see where the deck is starting to tear away from the home, as copper spikes holding the deck to the home are clearly visible.Despite this evidence, Shadlock’s insurance claims have been refuted. “The insurance company denied us, the city denied us...our home sat here for 25 years and everything was fine. Within the last year and eight months, there have been two water line breaks and one was on the main line,” said Shadlock. “Our homes (he points to his neighbour’s house to the east) have been severely damaged. We, the homeowners, can’t prove the damage came from the water line. “I challenge anyone in the insurance and the city to please come here and tell me where the water came from that undermined our homes when the water table is 50 feet below our homes. There’s only one source that has so much water that can do so much damage.”
City of Vernon manager of finance, Kevin Bertles, said anytime a claim is started against the city, they hire an appraiser or adjudicator who conducts an investigation. “That adjudicator makes the determination whether or not the city is libel,” said Bertles. “We don’t play an active part in the resolution. It’s handled by a third party to make sure it’s handled impartially.” According to Shadlock, the city adjudicator was at his house for 20 minutes. Shadlock asked, on March 17, 2009, through a Freedom of Information request, for a copy of the adjudicator’s report to the city. In a reply written the same day, the city said it “regrets to inform you that the City of Vernon is unable to provide access to the records you have requested because the city does not have the requested report.”“Oh,” deadpanned Shadlock. The adjudicator did not return a Morning Star call for comment.
The only person from the City of Vernon to visit Shadlock’s home to look at the situation in the past two years, is Coun. Patrick Nicol, who stopped by three weeks ago. That despite numerous e-mails and phone requests from Shadlock to all members of council, old and new, to pay a visit. Nicol wishes there was a better system in place for taxpayers who have grievances with the city. “Is there not a more citizen-friendly circumstance that doesn’t jeopardize the integrity of those that may have opposing views in these cases?” asked Nicol. “To me, there should be a better system.” One of the reasons Shadlock is going public with his battle is he wants to people to be aware of what’s in their insurance policies regarding their homes. His policy has paragraph after paragraph in a section called ‘loss of damage not insured.’ That includes item number 12, “settling, expansion, contraction, moving, building, buckling and crackling.” The key item, says Shadlock, is no. 27: “you are not insured if it’s caused by seepage or leakage of water below the surface of the ground, including sidewalks, foundations, driveways, walls, basements, floors, doors, windows or other openings unless the loss or damage resulted from the escape of water from a public water main.” “What more evidence do you need?” asked Shadlock. “If nothing else, I want every citizen to look at their policies, especially the part about losses not covered. Most of the general public isn’t aware of that.”
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Morning Star Editorial Published: April 16, 2009 6:00 PM
Vernon resident Glen Shadlock is left with a sinking feeling in his battle with the city and insurance adjustors to determine what’s causing the cracks and shifts in his house, located south of Pottery Road off 15th Street. In Shadlock’s mind, the cause is crystal clear: it’s the city’s main water line, which, he says, erupted twice in eight months mere metres from his home, and has been leaking and weeping more than two years. His insurance policy clearly states that he is covered for damage caused by the escape of water from a public water main. The problem for Shadlock is, that despite his evidence, insurance investigators say there’s no proof that the water line is causing Shadlock’s house to slowly break and crumble. The city has said it doesn’t investigate claims against it; instead it hires a third party to ensure impartiality.
Fine. Makes sense. An adjudicator apparently went and spent 20 minutes at the site, then told the city it wasn’t responsible. However, what’s disturbing is the city has told Shadlock, in writing, it can’t provide a copy of the adjudicator’s report absolving the city of blame because it doesn’t have a copy of the report. So Shadlock, the taxpayer, is just supposed to go along with this; no explanation given as to why it’s not the water main causing the problems for his house. Nothing. The 20 minutes the adjudicator spent at the site is 20 minutes more than the mayor and most of council, old and new, have spent there. Despite repeated requests from the owner, Coun. Patrick Nicol is the only council member to show up and have a look at the situation. This isn’t a minor issue for the city or council. It has the potential to cost one taxpayer his home, his sanctuary, and should be dealt with more thoroughly, and more professionally.
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