BC man wins claim after Okanagan winery withheld $3K for confetti clean up

A BC man is in a battle with a Central Okanagan winery that reportedly withheld almost all of his damage deposit for his wedding to cover damages caused by confetti cannons.

According to a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Daniel Webbe held his wedding at 50th Parallel Estate Winery in June 2022. During the dinner service, two confetti cannons were fired but this was in violation of the parties’ contract.

The winery withheld $3,150 of Webbe’s $3,500 damage deposit to cover the clean up costs, something he says actually cost a fraction of what the winery spent.

Webbe values the clean up costs at $700, however, 50th Parallel says it is entitled to keep most of the deposit due to the cleanup costs and “lost business revenue” after the confetti mess “rendered the hall unusable.”

According to the decision, Webbe says he spoke with the winery manager as soon as the confetti went off. The manager told him extra cleaning might be required and that “he would let him know.”

Webbe says when he returned to the hall the following day to help with any clean up the manager led him to believe there were “no issues.”

Megan Stewart, a tribunal member, writes in the decision that Webbe provided statements from two wedding guests which backup his submission that staff told him the confetti was not a significant problem.

However, 50th Parallel still withheld the $3,150.

“For its part, 50th Parallel says the confetti cannons spread debris all over the hall, and that professional cleaners had to be hired to get rid of it,” writes Stewart in the decision.

“It also says many of its service items were permanently damaged and had to be discarded, and that the confetti clogged its dishwashers, which required additional cleaning and servicing.”

The decision says 50th Parallel was required to prove that the confetti caused the damage as well as prove the cost to remedy the damage.

However, Stewart says the winery did not provide evidence of the level of damage caused such as photographs, video or witness statements.

In addition, the winery submitted two invoices totaling $908 dated July 18, 2022 but they did not support the costs of remedying the mess or damage caused by the confetti at the June 30 wedding.

A third invoice dated August 1, 2022 for $2,730 was also submitted for “janitorial services.”

The decision says 50th Parallel does not reasonably explain the delay in the cleaning services and the delay makes them too remote to be obviously attributable to the confetti.

“In short, I find 50th Parallel has not proven it was entitled to retain $3,150 from Mr. Webbe’s damage deposit. However, since Mr. Webbe only claimed $2,450, I limit his award to this amount,” Stewart concludes.

The winery was ordered to refund the $2,450 as well as $60.40 in pre-judgment interest under the COIA, and $175 in CRT fees which totals a final payment of a total of $2,685.40.