EgyCan Foods, a Middle Eastern grocery and hardware store in Surrey, was hit with a lawsuit in a dispute over private parking.
Pritesh Patel sued Egycan for $3,000 in damages. In response, Egycan said that Patel parked in front of its business and then went to the gym at the other end of the commercial complex.
According to Egycna, there were signs stating that drivers were not allowed to park without authorization, which, according to the tribunal decision, “Mr. Patel did not have.”
Sunsa Holdings, the parking lot property manager, said the parking lot is exclusively leased for Egycan customers.
It was a tricky decision for the tribunal, which partially sided with Patel.
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Patel parked on the private lot on April 27, 2023. He parked in an unmarked parking stall across from Egycan. He then went to the gym and returned around two hours later, discovering his car was towed.
He spoke to an Egycan employee, who confirmed his vehicle was towed.
Patel’s defence was that as a gym member, he was entitled to park in any stalls that weren’t marked “reserved” for Egycan. He claimed Egycan and Sunsa were negligent due to not displaying clear signage about parking restrictions.
Patel paid $378.48 for a towing fee, and he claimed that plus $2,621.52 for mileage to travel to collect his towed car, lost income, and loss of enjoyment from stress.
The tribunal agreed that the stall Patel parked in was not marked and agreed that Egycan failed to show a standard of care.
“It is undisputed that Mr. Patel parked in an unmarked stall and that other nearby stalls were marked ‘Egycan Foods Parking Only seven days 9 am – 9 pm,'” the tribunal said.
Ultimately, the tribunal decided that Egycan owed Patel for the towing fees but not the other claimed damages.