As a graduate of the University of British Columbia (UBC), I have fond memories of my time spent there, however, I also have less fond memories of all the money I spent there as well.
There were always rumors about how legit UBC parking tickets were considering the university was technically not part of the city of Vancouver. Therefore, many parked on UBC campus and refused to pay tickets. Some went unnoticed, while others got towed.
Well, it looks like someone at UBC ticketed the wrong chartered accountant, because he sued UBC and won!
The Vancouver Sun reports: "The University of B.C. has unlawfully issued more than $4 million worth of parking tickets since 1990 and will have to pay back the fines to thousands of people, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled."
Click here to read the full article.
Dan Barbour, the suing-mad chartered accountant claimed that the University had no legal authority to issue tickets, which he cited under the University Act. The University disagreed with that statement and argued that because they are their own municipality, they will continue to act as one, including issuing parking tickets.
The Supreme Court judge ruled that since UBC has no legal right to issue tickets, they will be forced to give back the money to people who paid for their tickets and this will not be easy. UBC has been issuing tickets since 1990.
The Court ruling is online, so click here if you want to see it.
UBC has been quite effective in raising tuition costs and student costs in general, so its nice to know that they can get caught for unlawfully trying to squeeze more costs out of individuals. I mean UBC is suppossed to be a public institution devoted to higher learning, not a corporation. Nevertheless, they have been caught red-handed acting like a corporation and the Supreme court is slapping them on the wrist for it.
Well, I wish UBC luck in trying to give back all that money.
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