Home Depot customer's $5,000 faulty fridge lawsuit dismissed over timing
BC’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has dismissed a lawsuit from a Home Depot customer claiming their faulty fridge cost them $5,000 worth of damages.
The customer, Xiuqi Wu, claimed Home Depot Canada sold them a defective refrigerator, with coils that kept freezing and causing cooling issues even after a repair in 2020.
The customer sued for the original purchase price of $2,200 plus nearly $2,800 in other damages for repair costs, replacing spoiled food, stress, and frustration.
The issue hung on the timing of when the customer proceeded to court with the complaint. Canada’s Limitation Act requires civil suits to be initiated within two years of when someone knew or ought to have known they were incurring damages.
Since that didn’t happen in this case, and the respondent’s fridge caused them issues for five years, the CRT dismissed their claim.
“At the end of the two-year limitation period, the right to bring a claim ends, even if the claim otherwise would have been successful,” the CRT wrote in its decision.