3-year wait for elk head taxidermy not 'reasonable,' B.C. tribunal rules

Mounted elk heads are seen in this file photo. (Shutterstock.com)

A B.C. taxidermy business has been ordered to pay a client more than $4,500 after failing to deliver a promised mounted elk head and sheep cape for more than three years.

Dennison Harold Grant Ableson first hired taxidermist Marty Loring, who does business as "Majestic Taxidermy," to do the work back in January 2021, according to a decision issued this week in B.C.'s small claims tribunal. 

The decision by Civil Resolution Tribunal Vice Chair Andrea Ritchie does not specify where in B.C. the business is located. The CRT dispute resolution process takes place virtually.

According to the decision, Ableson agreed to pay Loring $5,195 for the work, which included "mounting an elk with antlers, mounting a Dall sheep head, and preparing a purchased Dall sheep cape."

Ableson told the tribunal he paid a total of $4,050 toward the work in installments, but that the work was not completed within six months, as had been promised.

Loring disputed the six-month timeframe, saying he never made such a promise, and that he could still complete the work Ableson had ordered.

Settlement not 'clearly' accepted

Ableson claimed that the parties had reached a settlement during the negotiation phase of the CRT process, and that this agreement was binding on Loring.

Under the terms of the settlement, Loring was supposed to complete the elk mount and deliver the Dall sheep cape to Ableson by Nov. 24, 2023, according to the decision. He was also supposed to refund Ableson $550.

"In that Oct. 26, 2023, email setting out the proposed settlement terms, the case manager asked both parties to confirm their agreement by Oct. 30," Ritchie's decision reads.

"Mr. Ableson responded that he accepted the terms, but Mr. Loring did not respond to the email, and undisputedly did not satisfy any of the agreement’s terms."

The tribunal vice chair concluded that, because Loring "did not clearly accept the settlement agreement's terms," there was no binding settlement between the parties.

'Reasonable timeframe' implied in contract

While Ritchie did not find the settlement agreement enforceable, she reached a decision that yielded a similar end result.

The tribunal member concluded that the parties did not have "an express agreement on timeline," but that there was nevertheless an implied term of the contract that Loring would complete the work within a "reasonable timeframe."

Courts and the CRT find implied terms in contracts when doing so is necessary to give them "business efficacy," Ritchie's decision explains, adding that "an implied term must be something that both parties would have considered obvious when they entered into the contract."

"I find that is the case here," the decision continues. "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. I find Mr. Loring breached the parties’ contract by failing to complete the work in a reasonable time."

Ritchie ordered Loring to refund Ableson his $4,050 and to allow him to pick up his elk head within 10 days of her March 11 decision.

She also ordered Loring to pay $200 in tribunal fees and $289.03 in pre-judgment interest, for a total award of $4,539.03.