National Party's Judith Collins is suing a Nelson couple and the local council over a landslip which damaged her rental property.
They say the process has left them feeling stressed, bullied and financially vulnerable.
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Ashley Cooper and Ingrid Penfold had only owned their hillside home for six months when torrential rainfall hit Nelson, washing away land.
But, it's what's followed that's hurt more.
"Very stressful, it's had a huge impact on us," Cooper told Newshub.
The builder and his partner bought the Queens Rd property in 2011. They saw it as a project. Reports from previous years said the land needed stabilising with a retaining wall.
That work was in progress when the storm hit bringing down hillsides.
"No one could prepare for it. It was unforeseen, and it was an event that was one in 250 or 500 years."
One of those slips rendered a rental property owned by Collins and her husband uninhabitable. They got an EQC payout of just over $39,000 and an insurance payout, but it wasn't enough to reinstate the land.
In 2017 they filed legal proceedings, asking for $180,000 enough to fix the land and compensate for lost rent.
"Part of their thing is that there's concern about a future slip, but they waited six years before they did anything."
Collins and her husband blamed the council for historic negligence saying it should have supervised construction on Queens Rd.
But says Cooper and Penfold owed a personal care of duty as neighbours.
"We still own the house now, we love it here and honestly believe everything has been done to remedy the problem. Everything is signed off from the council."
Collins wouldn't comment, telling Newshub the matter before the courts, but a settlement conference is scheduled for next week.
Newshub.
