Man sues GoodLife Fitness after Canada Goose jacket gets stolen from cubby

A man who had his Canada Goose jacket stolen from a GoodLife fitness location in BC decided to sue the gym, even though he elected not to use a locker.

Pardeep Baidwan sued GoodLife, claiming that it was responsible for failing to provide “adequate security.”

In total, he claimed $1,674.40.

So, what did the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal have to say about Baidwan’s claims?

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In response to Baidwan’s allegations, GoodLife said its security measures were adequate and that Baidwan signed a contract stating the fitness centre wasn’t responsible for the theft.

It added that it owed Baidwan nothing, while Baidwan alleged that GoodLife was “hiding behind” the contract.

Baidwan became a member of the fitness centre on January 5, 2020. The Canada Goose jacket incident occurred on November 29, 2022.

He told the tribunal that he put his Canada Goose parka jacket in an open cubby on the workout floor, and when he returned shortly after, to his surprise, the jacket was gone.

He reported the missing, expensive jacket to the general manager at the location where the incident occurred. An incident report from the same date suggests the manager spent over an hour reviewing camera footage but couldn’t identify anyone with the jacket.

Despite the lack of video evidence, GoodLife did not dispute that the jacket was stolen.

There was also no allegation that a GoodLife employee took it.

The manager noted that the cubbies where Baidwan placed his jacket were in a camera blind spot.

“Baidwan says GoodLife’s failure to adequately supervise or surveil the cubbies makes it responsible for the theft,” reads the tribunal decision.

Did the tribunal agree?

“The difficulty for Mr. Baidwan is that there is simply no evidence of negligence by GoodLife. I do not agree with Mr. Baidwan’s assertion that GoodLife knowingly putting the cubbies in a blind spot makes them responsible,” the tribunal member said.

The tribunal added that Baidwan could’ve secured his expensive jacket in a locker and chose not to.

Sadly for Baidwan, it was a pretty open-and-shut case.

“There is no basis to hold GoodLife responsible for the missing jacket. I dismiss Mr. Baidwan’s claim,” the tribunal concluded.

Do you agree that this was purely Baidwan’s mistake?