'She was victimized by a predator': B.C. court reverses transfer of $1.4M townhouse in elder abuse case
CTV
A man who "systematically isolated, manipulated, deceived, abused, and exploited" an elderly North Vancouver woman has lost his ownership stake in her home.
A man who "systematically isolated, manipulated, deceived, abused, and exploited" an elderly North Vancouver woman has lost his ownership stake in her home.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan – who has since been appointed to the B.C. Court of Appeal – used those words and many more to describe Zoltan Vimhel's treatment of Judith King in a decision issued last week and published online Monday.
The judge ruled that Vimhel got himself added to the title of King's three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse on Berwick Avenue through "undue influence," and ordered that his share of the property be transferred back to her.
Vimhel, who "initially participated" in the court proceedings, stopped responding to King's lawyers more than two years ago, according to the decision.
The townhome's assessed value as of July 1, 2023, was slightly more than $1.4 million, according to BC Assessment.
Defendant began exerting control 'immediately'
Today, King is 88 years old and resides in a care home. She suffers from dementia, and her son Owen was appointed as her litigation guardian partway through the court proceedings.
