Indo-Canadian Blueberry Farmer On Hook For $300,000 In Damages

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Mission blueberry farm owner Nachhatter Singh Jhulley and Jeremy MacKay got into an altercation on April 24, 2011, during which MacKay received a significant blow to the head with a metal pole. He was sent to hospital for treatment. MacKay was awarded about $297,000 in damages.

MISSION – An fight on an Indo-Canadian-owned Mission blueberry farm has resulted in almost $300,000 in damages against the owner for assault and battery, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision.

Owner Nachhatter Singh Jhulley and Jeremy MacKay got into an altercation on April 24, 2011, during which MacKay received a significant blow to the head with a metal pole. He was sent to hospital for treatment, reported 24 Hours newspaper.

Jhulley owns the residence MacKay was renting from him where the fight occurred, which sits in the middle of his substantial blueberry farm. Jhulley’s own home is located down the road.

At the time of the fight, MacKay, 39, was renting Jhulley’s home with his five children.

According to court documents, for the first few years, the landlord-tenant relationship was cordial but things went downhill in 2009 and in 2011, when Jhulley issued a “notice to end tenancy.”

But it triggered a dispute-resolution hearing before the Residential Tenancy Branch, which declared the notice ineffective and the fight occurred one month later.

MacKay said he now has permanent headaches, dizziness, balance problems, and fatigue, which he claims was a result of the head injury and has rendered him unemployable, reported 24 Hours.

While Jhulley said MacKay was the aggressor, the court ruled otherwise, calling Jhulley the sole instigator — both parties also had different testimony regarding the course of events that transpired.

In his decision, Justice Nigel Kent ruled Jhulley was liable to MacKay for the assault and battery, but noted he was not free of blame for the consequences of the fight and was allocated 15% of the fault for the loss and damage sustained.

MacKay was otherwise awarded about $297,000 in damages.