A local sandwich chain with locations throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley was ordered to pay thousands of dollars in a legal dispute related to franchising.
Big Star Sandwich, which began in New Westminster in 2013, has additional locations in Burnaby, Vancouver, and Maple Ridge, and was named in a recently published BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute decision.
KD, who requested information about obtaining a franchise, had to pay Big Star Sandwich Licensing a deposit of $5,000. He said that the respondents in the civil case did not return his deposit.
Big Star stated that it had incurred costs and hadn’t received the disclosure documents, adding that it was entitled to retain the deposit.
KD claimed $5,000 in damages.
The tribunal member overseeing the case stated that Big Star did not provide submissions or documentary evidence, despite being given the opportunity and an extension to do so.
KD contacted Big Star in 2022 to explore the possibility of obtaining a franchise. He was told that he would have to pay a $5,000 “fully refundable” deposit.Ā According to the agreement, KD would make the deposit, and if both parties entered into a franchise agreement, the deposit would be credited toward the payment of the initial franchise fee.
KD understood the terms and agreed that the deposit would be returned within a reasonable period “without interest or deduction if they failed to enter into the franchise agreement within the 90 days.”
Neither party in the case disputed that a franchise agreement had not been reached. KD said he didn’t want to move forward with it and requested a refund. He told the tribunal that Big Star, on May 12, 2024, stated he would refund the deposit.
“Big Star says it does not have to return the deposit because it had to retain an accountant and because KD did not return the disclosure documents,” the tribunal decision states. The tribunal also pushed back on that claim.
“The agreement does not make the deposit refund dependent on the return of documents,” it said, adding, “The agreement is specific that the deposit will be refunded without deduction.”
KD got a bit more than the $5,000. The tribunal ordered Big Star to pay KD $5,680.07, which included the deposit return, tribunal fees, and pre-judgment interest.
Big Star made international headlines when Liam Neeson decided to visit the shop almost ten years ago.
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