Southwest Winnipeg couple sues city, neighbour and contractors over wall of earth

CBC

15-07-2025

A southwest Winnipeg couple is suing the City of Winnipeg, their neighbour and three of her contractors over a wall of earth that divides the two properties.
In a statement of claim filed July 9 with Manitoba's Court of King's Bench, Glen Hart and Dana-Lee Maeren are seeking an order to dismantle a nine-metre-tall, 120-metre-wide hill on the property to the north of their home in Winnipeg's South Wilkes neighbourhood.
The couple is also seeking an order preventing their neighbour from building any similar landscaping projects. As well, Hart and Maeren are seeking damages from the city, the neighbour and the other defendants.
According to the statement of claim, Hart and Maeren's neighbour hired contractors to begin a landscaping project that includes what the couple now calls "a massive hill" along their property line.
"It dominates the view from the front of the Hart House, further, the Hill slopes downwards and backs onto a drainage trench, which has resulted in a large wall of mud immediately outside the Hart House," the claim states in part.
The couple also claims the neighbour built the hill because she "was motivated by a personal animus for the owners of the Hart Property."
Hart and Maeren claim in the statement the use of heavy machinery to conduct the landscaping operation has undermined the structural integrity of a shared lane used by both property owners.
The couple also claims the City of Winnipeg failed to properly review and permit the plans for the landscaping project.
Hart and Maeren are seeking damages, asserting the landscaping poses a hazard in the event of a natural disaster, a drowning risk to young children and has caused drainage problems, damage to their own property and the shared lane, according to the statement of claim.
They also claim in the statement the value of their property "has been diminished as a result of the unsightly and negative aesthetic of the Hill."
The allegations have not been tested in court and no statement of defence has been filed.