A B.C. condo owner that was stung with $700 in fines because the company logo on her son's work van broke the strata's advertising bylaws has won a legal case.

Chilliwack condo owner Jo-Lynn Loyer took her strata to the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal after it dished out multiple fines.

According to an April 27 B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Strata BCS 983 issued fines because the company logo adorned on Loyer's son's van broke the rule prohibiting business signs in the complex.

According to the decision, the strata have a bylaw that states "owners shall not cause any trade, business, professional or other sign to be exhibited on or about their strata lot, the common property or limited common property" and have a rule which says "No business signage or advertising is allowed in the Cedarpark complex."

Loyer's son, who lived with her, regularly parked his work van in the strata parking lot, and the vehicle had the company's name, phone number and services it provided written on it.

The strata spoke to Loyer and told her the van's logos broke the bylaw.

Loyer and her son then spent $300 on a magnetic sheet which could be put over the signage on the van when it was parked.

The decision doesn't say why, but Loyer and her son stopped covering the van’s printing with the magnetic sheet.

She was then issued a $100 fine. A month later a $200 fine was issued, and so on.

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Loyer argued the logos on the company van did not break the strata's bylaw about commercial signage.

However, the Tribunal ruled it didn't need to make a decision on whether the logos were prohibited by the bylaw after it concluded that the fines had been issued incorrectly.

The Tribunal pointed to multiple errors committed by the strata which made the fines invalid.

"This means I need not consider whether Ms. Loyer actually contravened (the) bylaw," the Tribunal ruled.

While Loyer had argued the strata owned her $702 to cover the bylaws and interest it had charged her, the Tribunal found she'd only provided evidence of $500 of fines.

The Tribunal also dismissed her claim for $2,000 to cover legal fees and the $300 costs of the magnetic sheet.

The strata argued for $640 in legal fees because it was "forced to retain a lawyer."

However, the Tribunal ruled it wasn't "forced" to retain a lawyer and dismissed the claim.

Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered the strata to wipe the $500 of fines it had issued.

The decision says Loyer's son has since moved out so the matter of the logos on his company van is not an issue anymore.

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