A Kelowna business owner has won a lawsuit against the City of Kelowna for a business license.
The BC Supreme Court found city business license manager Greg Wise’s decision to refuse to renew a business license to be illegal and unreasonable, according to a decision released on Tuesday, October 5th.
In the ruling, BC Supreme Court Justice Gary Weatherill sided with Martin Weiss, owner of a bricklaying business in Kelowna. Weiss sued Wise and the city after being informed on December 7, 2020 that his company would not be granted a concession for 2021 because it did not meet the conditions of the business license. Weiss said the letter came “out of the blue,” which Weatherill agreed to.
Weatherill also agreed that Wise had no authority to revoke the license. He also agreed that Wise had no reasonable reason to deny Weiss a business license and that Wise did not give Weiss the opportunity to be heard.
The city argued that granting an annual business license was tantamount to granting a new license due to the one-year duration of the business license. It also argued that Wise had informed Weiss that a new business license would not be issued for 2021.
Weatherill rejected the argument, saying it had several shortcomings. He also said the same license will continue to run year after year as long as it is renewed. Weatherill also said it was evident that the city had intended to revoke Weiss’ business license.
Weatherill ordered the city to renew the commercial license against payment of the annual license fee. However, Weatherill did not seize the power of the city to revoke the business license for any legitimate reason under its bylaws.
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paula.tran@kelownacapnews.com
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