'Pitiful' award in leaky-home case

A leaky-home victim is devastated after getting less than half the money she had claimed.

Wilna White and her husband, Paul, of Whangaparaoa, claimed $475,000 in a Weathertight Homes Tribunal case but they got $173,000.

Mrs White said the award was pitiful, the tribunal had made many mistakes in its decision and she had found the process deeply humiliating and hurtful.

Her Army Bay house had such severe defects that a young girl fell part-way through a rotten deck.

Mrs White appeared in the Herald in January saying she was looking forward to getting justice after a seven-year battle.

The tribunal awarded the Whites $121,000 from Lorelle Kerkin as the sole trustee of an estate that sold them the house at 6 Castaway Place, and $52,000 from Rodney District Council, which signed it off.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 13 Mar 2009

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