Court orders BC taxidermist to return a client's elk head and payment

A BC taxidermist was sued by a client who paid for taxidermy work, including mounting a full-shoulder elk with antlers, because the work wasn’t completed.

Dennison Ableson paid Marty Loring with Majestic Taxidermy $4,050 for the elk taxidermy, a Dall sheep, and a Dall sheep cape. Ableson also suggested the parties reached a settlement agreement.

Loring said they never agreed to complete the work on a specific timeline but also said the work on the elk could still be completed.

Loring never addressed the binding settlement, but the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal did.

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Loring was hired for his services in January 2021. Ableson claimed that Loring agreed to perform the work within six months but never started, so Ableson stopped making payments. Loring denied providing a timeline and told the tribunal they were still willing to perform the required work.

According to an email submitted to evidence, the tribunal determined that Loring never agreed to the settlement.

While no official agreement was submitted to the tribunal, it did suggest that whatever the agreement contained indicated that the BC taxidermist would complete the work within a reasonable timeframe.

The tribunal decision states, “It has now been over three years since Mr. Ableson hired Mr Loring for the taxidermy work, and there is no indication Mr. Loring has started the work, despite stating they can still complete it.”

Because of this, the tribunal determined that Loring breached the contract between the two parties by failing to complete work in a reasonable time.

“In this case, I find Mr. Loring must reimburse the $4,050 Mr. Ableson paid them for work that was not completed. I also find Mr. Loring must return Mr. Ableson’s elk head,” the tribunal said.

Within ten days of the tribunal decision, Loring was ordered to make the elk head available for pick up and pay Ableson $4,593.03 within 21 days of the decision.