National Post (National Edition)
JUDGE AWARDS $22K TO COUPLE AFTER BOTCHED WEDDING PHOTOS.
Botched wedding job nets $22,000 award
VANCOUVER • A Surrey, B.C. couple who hired a photographer to take photos and video as a keepsake of their 2015 wedding ended up in court instead, suing him for not delivering on the $8,500 “platinum package” they ordered.
Kaman and Ramandeep Rai, frustrated by repeated delays over six years, also sued Aman Bal for compensation for the breach of contract that robbed them for years of the chance to celebrate their wedding day with loved ones, especially those who couldn't attend.
The court awarded the couple $7,000 for what it will cost them to have the raw footage and photos turned into albums and other keepsakes by another photographer and $10,000 for mental distress. Bal was also ordered to pay them $5,000 in punitive damages.
The judge noted Bal had been sued five times in civil court between 2011 and 2019 and said he showed a “pattern of deceitful behaviour that frustrates innocent people to the extent that they just give up” and cut their losses.
“The court must denunciate such behaviour and deter Mr. Bal for further victimizing others from his unsavoury business practices,” ruled Surrey provincial court Judge Valliammai Chettiar in a written decision after trial, using the terms “deterrence” and “denunciation” usually reserved for sentencing in criminal trials. She chastised Bal for “numerous inconsistencies,” “evasive” answers on the stand, and “most troubling,” his “readiness to come up with some narrative without any foundation or documentary support.”
Bal, who has about 20 years of experience as a professional photographer and who has shot music videos and fashion shows as well as weddings, but has worked as a sales representative at a paint company for the past four years, said he withheld the products because the couple hadn't completed the final payment of $3,500.
“There is not a shred of evidence to support this assertion,” said Chettiar. “He appeared to be making up answers on the spur of the moment,” she said. He was a “completely unreliable witness. I reject his evidence.”
The ruling said the Rais, whom she called “forthright” and consistent in their evidence, which she had “no hesitation in accepting,” had paid $5,000 before the wedding and were waiting to receive the package before making the final payment.
Court heard they had sent repeated texts over the first two and half years to Bal requesting the products and were given repeated assurances delivery was forthcoming.
He represented himself as “Elite Images,” but in January 2018 told them he no longer worked there and that the images were being worked on by others, but he couldn't say who those people were or what company they worked for or where the footage and photos were. Bal didn't sign the contract, which the judge called an “utterly incomprehensible document,” and she rejected Bal's contention the Rais contracted with Elite Images, not him.
He “deliberately used different names in his dealings with the Rais, creating confusion and possibly a path for him to escape liability, if necessary, by obscuring the true identity of the contracting party,” the judge ruled.
She also noted the photos the couple eventually saw contained “lots of deficiencies,” such as blurry photos and others where the couple's eyes were closed or Bal's staff could be seen.
On deciding on compensation for mental distress by Bal's breach of the agreement, Chettiar noted the length of delay, the missed opportunity to share wedding memories with others and the lack of peace and she said the “agony they have had to endure is unconscionable.” They also had to pay a lawyer for the lawsuit.
Neither the Rais nor Bal could be reached for comment.
(HE WAS A) COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE WITNESS. I REJECT HIS EVIDENCE.