Image Credit: FACEBOOK: 50th Parallel Estate Winery / BLOCK ONE Restaurant

A Lake Country winery that refused to give a couple most of their $3,500 damage deposit back after confetti cannons were used at their wedding has lost in court.

According to a May 23 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, 50th Parallel winery said the use of the two confetti cannons during the wedding made the hall unusable for some time afterwards, added extra costs for cleaning, and clogged its dishwashers.

While the groom, Daniel Webbe, had handed over $3,500 for the damage deposit, 50th Parallel said it would only refund $350 because of the extra cost incurred from the confetti.

Webbe argued the extra cleaning would only cost $700 and took the company to the online small claims court arguing for $2,450 back – his deposit, minus the $700 cleaning cost.

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According to the decision, Webbe and his now-wife got married at the winery in June 2022 and signed a contract saying confetti cannons wouldn't be used.

However, during the dinner service, guests fired off two confetti cannons.

Webbe spoke to the manager who told him extra cleaning might be required, and the next day he returned and offered to help with the clean-up, but was told there were "no issues."

"Mr. Webbe provided statements from two wedding guests which corroborate his submission that staff told him the confetti was not a significant problem," the decision reads.

However, somewhere along the way the winery changed its tune.

In the decision, 50th Parallel winery says the confetti cannons spread debris all over the hall and professional cleaners had to be hired to get rid of it. It said some items were permanently damaged and the confetti clogged its dishwashers.

The winery also stated that it lost bookings because of the clean-up.

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However, the Tribunal criticized the lack of evidence submitted by the winery.

"The difficulty for 50th Parallel is that it has not provided evidence of the level of damage caused, such as photographs, video, or witness statements. Also, the three invoices it did provide do not support the cost of remedying mess or damage from the confetti," the Tribunal ruled.

One invoice was for carpet shampooing, although the hall isn't carpeted, and the invoices were dated weeks after the wedding.

"I find the almost three weeks between the wedding and the provision of those services makes them too remote to be obviously attributable to the confetti," the Tribunal ruled.

The Tribunal also ruled the winery had supplied no evidence of any damage to its dishwasher or of the lost business revenue.

"Finally, it is unclear why 50th Parallel added $150 for tax to the $3,000 it withheld from Mr. Webbe’s damage deposit since the invoices it submitted included an amount for GST," the Tribunal ruled.

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Ultimately, the Tribunal ruled that the winery couldn't keep the couple's damage deposit and ordered it to pay $2,450, plus fees and $60 in interest.

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