Lac du Bonnet man sues RM over horse’s death

A Lac du Bonnet man is suing the municipality, alleging that its employees entered his property and removed several hundred meters of brush, causing one of his horses to run off and die on the highway.

The property, which Gerald Perron has owned and lived in since 1995, is next to Lac du Bonnet Cemetery. A row of caragana bushes separated the two lots.

A statement of claim filed in the Court of Queen’s Bench on July 25 details the timeline of events in which officials from the RM of Lac du Bonnet, about 110 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, removed a row of bushes that functioned as a natural boundary and preserved the Two Horses of Peron are safe on his estate.

The claim states that between the end of August and the beginning of September 2020, municipal officials came to his property and removed all the bushes without notifying him.

Perron’s claim says he didn’t notice the loss until several weeks later, when an RCMP officer came to his house to tell him one of his horses had wandered off the property and been hit by a vehicle. the highway.

The horse, named Kokoplan, died from injuries from the crash, the lawsuit states.

During the same visit, the officer gave Perron a ticket for allowing an animal to run loose on a highway, a violation of the Highway Traffic Act. The ticket was eventually suspended by prosecutors, the suit states.

The plaintiff alleged that the municipality was liable for trespass and negligence, which were the “direct and proximate cause” of the damage to his property and the untimely death of Kokoplan.

Perron is seeking damages for the costs of replacing the trees, the loss of use and enjoyment of his property, the value of the deceased horse, mental and emotional harm following Kokoplan’s death, and all costs associated with defending the Highway Traffic Act violation.

None of the allegations have been tested in court. No defense has been filed and no trial dates have been set.

CBC News requested comment from the RM of Lac du Bonnet but did not receive a response in time for publication.