A Whitehorse man and Giorgio’s Cuccina are petitioning Yukon Supreme Court to order that new management be hired for the Condominium Corporation Number 58 (CC58).

This corporation is the building housing Giorgio’s, David Bently Miller and the Elite Hotel. The petition was submitted Jan. 22 by the party’s lawyer, Meagan Hannam.

The petition targets Elite Hotel and Travel Ltd.

This complex totals seven units split among three owners. Elite (the majority owner) owns four, Giorgio’s two and Miller one.

The complex is governed by a declaration dating back to Oct. 30, 1998, and Elite’s co-operation is needed to manage it. The hotel has four members on the board of directors, and they are needed for quorum.

Hannam said the hotel generally manages the building and treats the other two parties as tenants. She added Elite decides the common expenses that need to be paid.

The two petitioners are concerned about this process. Hannam explained, in the petition, that Miller alleges that the heating system is not being maintained and that the building lacks adequate insurance.

He alleges that the complex should have an elected board of directors and collect fees from all owners to pay for both common expenses and maintenance.

The board of directors did not exist until February 2018. There were two meetings held last year, one in February and one in April.

The petitioners allege that resolutions were passed with Elite’s support. They further allege that Elite stopped supporting these resolutions after the meeting. They claim that Elite viewed these meetings as discussions, and that decisions need to be approved by a majority of the owners.

No details were provided on this resolution.

She next addressed management issues.

She points out that it took 18 months for the three owners to come up with a budget, from which Elite allegedly retracted its support. The petitioners allege that the hotel continued dictating common expenses.

Hannam also explained there were periods over the last two years when the building did not have adequate insurance to cover replacement value.

She said Elite increased the insurance in February 2017 but alleges it let the policy lapse the following October. She added the other owners were not given notice of this.

The insurance was reinstated in the spring of 2018.

The next issue is a bank account for the complex. The board decided to open one at the April 2018 meeting, but Hannam alleges that Elite backed out of this venture.

She further alleges that it opened an account a month later, with the hotel being the only signatory.

“Given Elite’s refusal to allow CC58 (the complex) access to the bank account, since May 2018, Mr. Miller and Giorgio’s have paid their condo fees in their lawyer’s trust account,” Hannam said in the petition.

Elite continues to demand direct payment of common expenses. The hotel also asked for reimbursement from the other owners. They asked for the fees to be put into the bank account for transparency.

Hannam next points out that there is no reserve fund that would cover costs for maintenance or renovations.

She said there have been two floods that caused Giorgio’s to temporarily close.

Miller’s unit experiences intermittent heating and periods with no hot water. Miller reports two instances of flooding. Once was a result of a heating issue, while the second was a plumbing failure.

Miller alleges he had to pay for the repairs. He added the contractor described the building’s mechanical room as a “pump graveyard”.

“Apparently, from the lack of maintenance and ‘Band-aid fixes’ over the years, the entire heating system is compromised,” Hannam said in the petition.

The petitioners allege that a review of the complex is “urgently needed.” They claim Elite has not taken steps for this review.

They further allege that there are no financial records for the complex, repairs or budgeted expenses. The complex cannot get director’s insurance.

He said her clients have tried to work with Elite. During the summer of 2018, Giorgio’s and Miller tried to get Elite to sign on to hiring a property manager though Gray Management Services.

They alleged that Elite initially seemed open to the idea, but backed out.

The petitioners request the court to order that Gray Management Services be hired to manage the building.

They want the order to give the new manager the authority to:

• obtain the proper insurance;

• set and collect the common expenses;

• levy and collect assessment as needed;

• enter and terminate contracts;

• have possession of and exclusive control of records;

• hire advisers and experts to do maintenance and repairs;

• retain an accountant to prepare financial statements; and

• be the sole signing officer.

They also seek costs for this action.