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A Saskatoon Queen’s Bench judge has temporarily suspended the demolition of a neglected home in Briarwood assessed at $650,300 after ordering a 10-day interim injunction.

On Tuesday, Justice Richard Elson said “fairness dictates” that a hearing be scheduled for an injunction application on Oct. 11, allowing property owner Yu Liu time to gather the evidence necessary to seek a full injunction preventing the city from demolishing his property.

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“This (would be) a really big loss for him,” Liu’s lawyer, Ling Ma, said after court.

“It’s a big house and it’s a fair amount of money in the market.”

Ma said Liu lives in China but thought the 2,318 square foot property at 166 Beechdale Crescent was being managed while he was gone. Court documents show the utilities have been disconnected since 2016, when Ma said Liu purchased the home while living in Saskatoon.

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“It was determined that there is and was a powerful toxic smell and extensive physical presence of mould and water that left the Property in an unsanitary and unliveable condition,” according to an affidavit filed by assistant fire chief Wayne Rodger.