A BC tribunal ruled that a 2022 snowstorm did not excuse a late food shipment to two Vancouver Island Tim Hortons locations, dismissing Clark Reefer Lines’ claim after finding the carrier failed to prove the weather event met the legal threshold for an “Act of God.”
The dispute centered on four unpaid invoices tied to a shipment scheduled for delivery back in December 2022, but not delivered until about one week later. The TDL Group, which operates the two Tim Hortons locations, argued it was not liable because the goods arrived spoiled.
Both restaurant locations rejected the shipment on arrival. According to the ruling, staff at the Victoria location reported that jalapeño muffins smelled and lettuce had wilted, while the Langford location also refused the goods because of spoilage.
The carrier attributed the missed delivery to a snowstorm and the Christmas holiday season. Clark argued that the snowstorm should qualify as an “Act of God,” which would relieve it of liability.
Tribunal member David Jiang found it was more likely than not that the goods had indeed spoiled by the time they reached the stores.
Jiang’s ruling set a high bar for that defense. The decision said an “Act of God” typically refers to a natural event that cannot be controlled or prevented by humans, but also stressed that a reasonably foreseeable occurrence does not qualify. The ruling added that an event is not an “Act of God” if a reasonable person exercising reasonable care could have guarded against it.
The decision further wrote that the company did not provide enough proof to show the storm was so severe that it was unforeseeable or unavoidable through reasonable care. Relevant evidence could have included weather forecasts for the dates in question, a statement from the driver describing road conditions, or government notices documenting traffic closures. Instead, the company described the snowstorm only as “strong.”
Jiang said he was unable to conclude from the limited record that the storm was severe enough to satisfy the legal exception.
He also noted that Clark attributed part of the delay to its holiday season schedule, and found that holiday scheduling issues plainly do not constitute an “Act of God.”
Because the carrier failed to prove an exception to liability, the tribunal held that TDL was entitled to a setoff equal to its loss. Since that loss exceeded the invoice total by a wide margin, Clark’s claim was dismissed in full.
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