By Pioneer Staff
A civil lawsuit filed against the District of Invermere by 14 residents opposing the recent deer cull took a step forward this week, as a fifth hearing came before a judge at the Vancouver Law Courts on Wednesday, May 2nd.
At the time of going to press, the outcome of the hearing was not known, but at the regular council meeting on April 24th, Chris Prosser, Invermeres Chief Administrative Officer gave an update on the lawsuits progress.
We are seeking to recover 100 per cent of our costs relating to the court case, Mr. Prosser said. If our petition to throw out their original petition is unsuccessful, well be going to court in the fall.
This District of Invermere is expecting to hear soon whether their application was successful to overthrow the original civil suit petition, he added.
Should they be successful, the municipality will look to recover 100 per cent of the costs associated with the suit from the 14 petitioners, he added.
The civil lawsuit, which was filed on February 9th, included seeking an injunction to halt the deer cull and damages for nuisance. A temporary injunction was granted from February 9th to February 24th, holding back the deer cull until that time. The cull then continued as planned, but only 19 of the permitted 100 mule deer were captured and killed.
The lawsuit also challenges the validity of two Invermere bylaws, passed in August of 2011 and January of 2012; the first authorizing the cull to go ahead and the second hiring the contractor to carry out the work.
Damages are also being sought by the 14 residents, who allege distress, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, nightmares, and symptoms of secondary trauma.
