PoCo homeowner still on hook for $21k after failing to pay for secondary suite construction

Despite claiming it would be a miscarriage of justice for a prior judgment to stand, a Port Coquitlam homeowner still owes a construction company $21,502 over an unfinished project, following a recent court judgment.

In 2024, Zhao Xia Cai hired Well-Set Construction Ltd. to build a secondary suite at her house on Eastern Drive.

The rental project was supposed to take eight weeks and cost $48,797, which Cai would pay in installments.

After doing some demolition, framing, and plumbing, the project was at the rough-in stage when Well-Set sent Cai an invoice for $16,168.

When the payment didn’t arrive, the company eventually slapped on a builder’s lien on the property filed a Notice of Claim.

However, serving Cai with that notice proved to be a challenge.

Yu Wang, Well-Set’s project manager, initially sent the notice by registered mail to the Eastern Drive house, as well as another property owned by Cai.

Both packages went unclaimed.

After sending the notice by regular mail, Wang showed up at both of Cai’s homes and called her work.

Wang also attempted to reach Cai by phone and email but didn’t get a reply until Feb. 1, 2025, when Cai contacted Wang on WeChat.

In the message, which the court judgment translated into English, Cai accused Wang of trespassing.

“Please do not enter my Coquitlam house without permission, nor our Vancouver Hastings St. apartment. I do not live there,” Cai wrote. “If you enter our private residence again, I will call the police.”

Following the exchange, Wang found she couldn’t send follow-up messages as her cellphone appeared to be blocked, according to the judgment.

While stating she didn’t live at either house, “it is noteworthy that Ms. Cai did not provide an alternate address for delivery,” noted Judge Diana Dorey in her decision.

In August 2025, a different judge awarded Well-Set a default judgment of $21,502.

Cai argued that order should be set aside, in part because she was never served with the notice of claim.

Cai told the court she had moved to Coquitlam to care for her elderly mother, who had suffered a broken leg. Her brother, who was checking her mail at her properties, threw away all junk mail, according to Cai, explaining why she didn’t receive the notice.

Cai also argued Well-Set breached their deal by leaving the job site with unfinished plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work.

“It would constitute a miscarriage of justice in these circumstances for the court to allow the default order to stand,” Cai contended.

Judge Dorey disagreed.

“[Cai] was either wilfully blind to the litigation or she deliberately chose to ignore it by not responding to Ms. Wang’s communications,” Dorey wrote.

Cai’s complaints about Well-Set’s work are based on “vague assertions,” sometimes involving work that wasn’t part of the contract, the judge wrote.

Dorey dismissed Cai’s application. The $21,502 default judgment stands.