A business owner in Teslin has been ordered to pay more than $100,000 by a Yukon Supreme Court judge for an assault that occurred four years ago this week.

Justice Ron Veale handed down his decision from the case Tuesday. He ordered that $40,785 of the $102,285 go to the Alberta health care system, with the remainder going to Lenora Minet.

Veale heard arguments in the case against Norbert Kossler earlier this year.

'In summary, I have found Mr. Kossler liable for the injury to Ms. Minet. I have denied the claim of self-defence and provocation,' Veale wrote.

He ordered Minet to be awarded $45,000 for general damages, $1,500 for the loss of housekeeping, $10,000 for the loss of income and $5,000 for special damages.

In June 2003, Kossler hit Minet in the face during an altercation on his front lawn in Teslin. The two had been having an affair since 2002 when she worked at his motel in Teslin.

'The affair was no secret in Teslin and it carried on until the incident on June 19, 2003, and occasionally afterwards,' Veale wrote.

'Mr. Kossler was clearly torn between his two relationships (he was also married) and did not wish to give up either. Mrs. Kossler was not aware of the extent of his relationship with Ms. Minet.'

Kossler's relationship with Minet was up and down depending on her substance use.

On some occasions, she would disappear for days in Teslin or Whitehorse with Kossler having to find her. At other times, she'd get money from him for her drug habit.

'Mr. Kossler was more than a bystander as he became directly involved in the payment of her drug debts,' Veale wrote in the 30-page decision. He noted Kossler supported Minet both financially and emotionally throughout the affair.

'The one unwritten rule was that the affair was never carried on at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Kossler and that brings us to the night of June 19, 2003,' the decision reads.

Kossler and Minet had a dispute earlier in the day, with Minet phoning his house that night.

'The phone call itself broke an understanding that Ms. Minet would not call his residence, as that would unnecessarily aggravate Mr. Kossler's relationship with his wife. It did precisely that.'

Kossler's wife later called Minet to tell her to stop calling their unlisted phone number.

After going to bed for the night, the Kosslers heard a knock on the door. When Kossler looked out, he saw Minet.

When she kept knocking, he decided to open the door and went onto the porch where Minet hit his chest, demanding the keys to his car. He grabbed her hands, pushing her back, with Minet ripping a flower box from the porch railing.

The fight continued as the Kosslers' next-door neighbour and motel manager Ron Fortin came out to intervene, with Kossler losing his nightgown at one point.

'There was generally a lot of screaming, yelling, arguing, wrestling, pushing and grappling,' Veale wrote.

Minet continually refused to leave and the fight didn't end until Kossler hit the woman in the face.

'Mr. Fortin testified that he could tell it was a hard strike because of the sound and obvious damage. He said it sounded like a pumpkin getting hit by a two-by-four. It had a hollow sound,'' Veale wrote.

Whitehorse doctor Rao Tadepalli, who treated Minet, described the injury from the blow as a 'significant trauma' and said 'to recreate it would be like taking a hammer and hitting it on the cheekbone.'

Minet ended up being transferred to Edmonton for surgery at the University of Alberta Hospital Hospital on the fracture to her left cheekbone. After the surgery, she suffered an infection as well as seizures.

In making his ruling, Veale looked at a number of previous cases and what Kossler could have done differently.

'There is no doubt she (Minet) assaulted Mr. Kossler that evening and that she was the aggressor in a domestic dispute,' the decision reads.

'It is also clear that Mr. Kossler had no fear of personal injury and was always able to handle Ms. Minet physically. I also recognize that Mr. Kossler is not expected to observe legal niceties in his response.

'Nevertheless, his assault in response to her aggression must be placed in its context:

1. he could have remained in his house and not engaged in the altercation;

2. he had, in my view, no difficulty extricating himself from the altercation;

3. he was physically superior and while the altercation may have been embarrassing, he was never under any risk of sustaining serious injury;

4. the presence of Mr. Fortin, who was clearly verbally assisting Mr. Kossler although reluctant to physically intervene, further reduced the possibility that he would be overwhelmed in any way.'

The blow to Minet was not a reasonable use of force and not self-defence, the judge ruled.

Nor was Kossler provoked into assaulting Minet, Veale wrote, noting there was no loss of self-control on Kossler's part, but rather an aggressive punch.

Veale also used case law in looking at what damages should be awarded to Minet.

Although general damages compensation for pain and suffering, loss of amenities and loss of expectation of life were awarded initially at $50,000, that was reduced by 10 per cent because, Veale ruled, she failed to take treatment for her seizures in a reasonable manner.

While Minet's injuries don't stop her from doing housekeeping, it likely affects her abilities from the headaches and tearing of her eye, Veale wrote in awarding her a 'nominal amount' of $1,500.

A further $10,000 was awarded for loss of income, even though she hadn't been working in the year leading up to the altercation.

'In this case, Ms. Minet's past addiction and lifestyle have clearly had an impact on her earning capacity in the past. As to her future earning capacity, her facial injury undoubtedly has an impact on her earning capacity, as she is very conscious of the injury and its permanent change to her face,' Veale wrote.

Special damages were awarded at $2,900 for Minet and at $2,100 for her mother for the expences both incurred while Minet was being treated in Whitehorse and Edmonton.

Finally, Kossler was ordered to pay the Alberta health care system, under which Minet was covered.