(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A B.C. trade show organizer has found that a global pandemic is not a good enough reason to get a refund for a cancelled exhibit.

According to a Jan. 12 Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Francis Pearson planned to hold the Interior Women’s Expo in Kamloops in May 2020.

However, the onset of the pandemic and the government restrictions surrounding large events meant the event was cancelled.

While the City of Kamloops and other suppliers refunded paid deposits and Pearson himself refunded the company that set up the display booths refused to give back a $5,000 deposit.

Pearson then took Sound Waves Entertainment Network, who does business as Showtime Events and Display, to the Civil Resolution Tribunal in an effort to get back his money.

According to the Tribunal decision, the two parties did discuss rescheduling the event and Showtime agreed to hold the trade show sometime in the future.

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However, Pearson found the majority of the exhibitors didn't want to reschedule.

In his legal argument, Pearson states he was owed a refund – even though his contract said no refunds – because the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to hold the trade show as gatherings were limited to 50 people.

The decision discusses the legal term "contract frustration" describing the term as "unforeseeable" circumstances.

"The unforeseen circumstances must destroy a fundamental aspect or purpose of the contract, making it truly pointless to continue to perform the contract’s terms, not just inconvenient, undesirable, or involving increased hardship or expense for one or both parties," the decision reads. "Put differently, a contract is frustrated if its performance is rendered impossible or impracticable by an unforeseeable event for which neither party was at fault."

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However, the Tribunal ruled that a global pandemic, and never seen before government restrictions, didn't mean the contract was "frustrated."

"The fact that his existing exhibitors elected not to reschedule does not mean the parties’ contract was impossible to perform," the Tribunal ruled. "Mr. Pearson also has not shown that it was not possible to... limit the participants to 50 at any one time to comply with the pandemic gathering restriction."

Ultimately, the Tribunal ruled the contract had not been frustrated and that Pearson is not entitled to a refund of the $5,000 deposit and dismissed the claim.

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