B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a Vancouver strata to pay a man who rented a U-Haul $2,940 after the strata’s garage signs indicated the roof was higher than the vehicle.
In his March 7 decision, tribunal member Christopher Rivers said Nicholas Biden rented a U-Haul truck and went to visit strata tenant Jack Morris on Nov. 18, 2020.
Morris invited Biden to park in his parking stall in the garage under the strata building.
Tribunal documents state the sign at the entrance to the garage said clearance was seven feet, seven inches. Biden and Morris said they knew the truck was seven feet, two inches tall.
However, when Biden attempted to drive the truck through the garage he hit a pipe protruding from the ceiling. It damaged the U-Haul’s roof and resulted in a bill that Biden and Morris had to pay.
The pair claimed the strata acted negligently by putting up a misleading sign and by not clearly marking the pipe as a hazard.
They claimed $2,944 for the damage to the rental truck.
The strata, meanwhile, argued it wasn't negligent, saying the sign only described clearance for the gate and not the entire garage. Further, it said the pipe was well-marked because it was painted in red.
The strata asked that Rivers dismiss the claim.
Rivers said the pipe is well below the clearance indicated by the sign, and the strata did not argue otherwise.
Rivers found the strata owed the applicants a duty of care to ensure the posted sign accurately reflected the garage’s safe driving height.
“Given the pipes and their fittings were well below seven feet, seven inches, I find the strata breached the duty of care,” Rivers said. “I find the damage to the U-Haul’s roof was a reasonably foreseeable and direct result of the applicants’ reliance on the strata’s sign.”
The strata argued that if signage was made for the lowest obstacle, almost all vehicles would be unable to enter.
“I infer the strata is arguing that once the applicants’ truck cleared the gate, the applicants could no longer depend on the clearance sign’s information,” Rivers said.
“I do not find the strata’s argument persuasive. I find a reasonable person would understand a clearance sign to mean the height of the garage’s drivable areas.”
The tribunal ruled it was unreasonable to expect a driver to get out and confirm clearance heights of everything in the garage.
As the U-Haul invoice was addressed to Biden, Rivers ordered the strata to pay him $2,940 in damages for negligence.
“I find it meaningful that (the strata has) changed the clearance to reflect a lower height that accommodates the pipes and joints,” he added.
