Canadian property owner sues over denial of Moby Dick franchise because of ‘offensive’ name
Owners council’s refusal came just two days before sale of the property to the franchise was to be completed
Mengfa International Resources Inc., the owner of a commercial strata unit atin Vancouver, is suing the owners of Strata Plan LMS 4025 for refusing to allow a Moby Dick fish-and-chips franchise to open in the building because the restaurant’s name was “offensive.”
Mengfa filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on January 9, claiming its former tenant, which ran an Asian-fusion restaurant called The Change, had hit a financial rough spot in April 2016. In May 2016, Mengfa found a new prospective tenant, non-party Moby Dick Restaurant (North Vancouver) Ltd., and the fish-and-chips business agreed to take over the space.
Two days before the sale to Moby Dick was set to complete, however, the strata council allegedly refused to allow the restaurant to occupy the unit, claiming the word “Dick” in the name “was an offensive term,” the claim states.
The owners council also claimed the restaurant’s signage would devalue neighbouring units, increase litter around the property and violate by-laws regulating odours and fumes.
Mengfa claims it responded to the strata’s concerns by pointing out that the restaurant’s name and logo “were not offensive to the public given its literary significance and fame,” the lawsuit states, adding that “a seafood fish-and-chips restaurant at the commercial property, itself being surrounded by the ocean and harbour, would not devalue the real estate property.”
Meanwhile, Mengfa claims it and Moby Dick submitted signage and renovation plans to the council in the summer of 2016, but the owners allegedly denied every proposal.
“It was clear by the end of August 2016 that the strata intended to refuse any signage proposals belonging to Moby Dick which resembled its traditional trademark and brand,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, the strata demanded that Moby Dick adopt a signage that was ‘minimalist’ both in colour and design. As such, the strata wrongfully denied Moby Dick’s use of its logo, brand name and goodwill recognition at the commercial property.”
Mengfa International seeks damages and declaratory relief for interference with business relations. The allegations have not been tested or proven in court, and the strata plan had not responded to the claim by press time.
