BC pair sued after renting out vacation lodge they no longer owned

In a strange Civil Resolution Tribunal case, a pair of BC residents were sued for renting out a vacation lodge they no longer owned.

Graham Underhill paid Dana Foster and Stephen Ludwig $5,250 for group transportation and lodging at Snowy Mountain Lodge.

Underhill claims the pair fraudulently misrepresented that they owned the vacation lodge, which, in fact, was closed by the BC government in March 2020.

Foster and Ludwig had their own claims in defence, alleging that Underhill was abusive and breached booking conditions in various ways. Regarding the ownership argument, Foster and Ludwig suggested that there was a BC Supreme Court proceeding about tenure renewal for the lodge.

What did the tribunal think?

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Underhill sought $5,000 from Foster and Ludwig which is the maximum amount for damages at the tribunal.

According to the tribunal decision, even though a supreme court proceeding was underway, Foster and Ludwig had been served with a notice to vacate, a notice of seizure, and notices of trespass before Underhill booked their trip. The tribunal decision further states that it was deemed that Foster and Ludwig were in no way legally entitled to rent out or host guests at the lodge in February 2023, when Underhill had booked his stay for.

Underhill emailed in June 2022 asking for a tentative booking for February 19 to February 25, 2023.

A phone conversation led to some details about the booking, including that the price would be $1,500 per person, or $1,300 per person if they paid a $650 deposit by the end of the month they booked.

Underhill paid a $2,625 deposit on June 27, 2022. In September, he made a second payment of the same amount for a total of $5,250.

On February 19, upon arriving at a meeting spot near the lodge, there was a disagreement. Underhill claims the respondents did not transport the group to the lodge as promised, nor did the trip occur at all.

Two days before the trip, someone told Underhill that the lodge was “officially closed by the province.”

Underhill responded, “Nothing has been conveyed to me by the owners.”

Further evidence reveals that the licence to occupy and operate a business on what was also revealed to be crown land expired on March 1, 2020. Yet even more evidence suggests that the respondents were asked numerous times to remove themselves from the land.

“Finally, the respondents made several allegations against the applicant, including about family law matters, criminal law matters, and a cabin that the applicant allegedly uses. I place no weight on these allegations, as they are unsupported by evidence and unrelated to the issue before me to decide,” the tribunal stated.

Ultimately, Foster and Ludwig were ordered to pay Underhill $5,482.92, which included a refund and tribunal fees.