Carol Pass and Lilija Gedvila, two of the condo owners at 4500 de Maisonneuve Boul. who met this week with the Examiner, said AXA, an insurance company whose policy they say was supposed to provide complete fire coverage, decided recently to pay only part of the total cost for restoration after invoking exclusionary clauses.

According to Gotham Hooja, another condo owner, the long delay in getting the building restored has taken its toll. "Some of us have developed major health problems, including neurological disorders, cancer and severe stress-related trauma," she said.

This week they learned that one of their fellow residents, Cecily Davies — who joined them for a condo owners' meeting less than a month ago — succumbed to cancer last Friday while living at a friend's home.

A total of 11 condo unit holders are claiming more than $200,000 from AXA — that being the difference between the amount the insurer is willing to pay and the actual restoration cost.

In some cases, said Pass, who has been living in a small apartment in Côte des Neiges since the fire in November 2005, some of the owners could end up spending all their life savings if they are forced to pay out of their own pockets so that they can return home.

"For the moment, apparently, the stand of the adjuster is that, unless your building is utterly and completely destroyed, the code compliance clause in the insurance contract held does not kick in," she said in an e-mail, detailing one of the insurer's reasons for denying full payment.

Pass maintains that according to AXA's interpretation of its policy, any upgrades from construction code standards in the 1950s, when 4500 de Maisonneuve was built, are not the insurer's responsibility, but that of the insured. She said the building was covered for $3.75 million and that an adjuster informed her shortly after the fire that it was AXA's "Cadillac policy."

However, the company maintains it isn't obliged to pay for upgrades to current code unless a building sustains structural damage and is a complete write-off. The residents are outraged that AXA only recently informed them of the code compliance clauses.

Lawrence Pass claims AXA doesn't want pay for current code requirements, such as 45-minute fire doors, because they were not standard 50 years ago.

"The insurer, even knowing that this is a requirement, refuses to compensate for it," he said. "It's blasphemy how they are not willing to have the building rebuilt or repaired to a level of safety."

Suzie Pellerin, a spokeswoman for AXA in Montreal, confirmed that the insurance policy covered 'repairs,' but not 'reconstruction.' "We hired an engineer on that and he gave us what we have to do, and we respect the proposal from the engineer," she said.

During Westmount city council's monthly meeting last Monday, Mayor Karin Marks was questioned by Pass on whether the City will become involved at some stage. "It's of concern, but it's not something that we can act on because the insurance has to be settled first," Marks told the Examiner.

She said it is "unusual, yes, but certainly not unprecedented" that buildings in Westmount remain in major disrepair for such a long time. In an interview, Director General Bruce St. Louis said 4500 de Maisonneuve cannot be left indefinitely in its current state. "We are available to meet and work with all parties to accelerate a solution to the problem," he said.