Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Julie Moses says she has since received money from the private business in question for costs incurred.
A Calgary woman is asking why she had been dinged for certain costs after a sign fell off Peters’ Drive-In and onto her vehicle.
Julie Moses and her daughter were at the popular burger joint in Calgary on June 14. She said they were paying for their order when a flying object came out of nowhere.
“I heard this crash and we both kind of ducked,” she told Global News. “Then I realized the sign had fallen on us.
“A whole chunk of the Peters’ sign came off. It was at least eight feet long, probably a couple of feet tall and it was on the top of the building.”
Moses added it was on top of her car and had to be moved by numerous employees. She said she got out and checked for any damage, but couldn’t really see any through the rain and wind.
However, she said that changed when she got home and into her garage.
“I could see a big line dent and scratches where it slid off the hood of the car.”
Moses said she contacted Peters’ several times, but did not hear back. She then reached out to her insurance company, filed a police report and took her vehicle to an autobody shop.
“They called me the next day and told me the damage was over $2,000,” she said.
Both insurance companies eventually got involved. The result was not good for Moses.
“They (Peters’ insurance) just said that they had investigated it and that they (Peters’) weren’t negligent and so they weren’t responsible,” she said her insurance adjuster told her.
“How’s it my fault? I’m sitting on their property. Their sign fell on my car. Like why do I have to pay for this?”
Global News reached out to Peters’ management.
Owner Stephen Hayden told us Peters’ forwarded the incident to its insurance company as soon as it was brought to their attention, which it is obligated to do under the terms of its policy. It also said it understands the wait and investigation process can sometimes be “painfully time consuming.”
Global News followed up with a question about Moses being on the hook for the deductible and whether that was fair.
Hayden reiterated: “We are obligated by our insurance policy to let our insurer first deal with any claims on our property. We always live up to our obligations, including those we have to our insurance company and customers, and we did that in all aspects of this situation.”
Late Monday night, Hayden told Global News the matter was resolved and Moses was not out any money.
Earlier in the day, Moses had told Global News that was not the case.
“About $400 I had to pay out of my pocket (for my deductible and rental insurance),” she said. “And there’s an almost $3,000 claim on my insurance.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, Moses confirmed to Global that she received a cheque from Peters’ Drive In for the costs incurred.
Global News also reached out the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) to find out the rules around objects falling on vehicles on private property.
Rob de Pruis, national director of Consumer & Industry Relations, said while it’s unfortunate Moses had to file a claim and pay the deductible, it’s not wrong.
“Was the owner of the sign negligent? It sounds like the conclusion (of the investigation) was the owner of the sign was not negligent,” he said.
“They didn’t ultimately do anything wrong other than they owned the sign.”
de Pruis pointed to a similar situation where a tree falls on someone’s car during a wind storm. The homeowner is not responsible — unless there was something wrong with the tree — that they knew about.
“If this sign was dangling by a really small rope or something like that and had been like that for weeks and the risk was obvious that someone could get hurt — then likely we would have had a different result.”
de Pruis said Moses’ insurance shouldn’t increase simply as a result of this one incident as no one was at fault.
Moses’ insurance provider Wawanesa said it could not speak to specific cases, but did reiterate that when the wind blows a sign down, the person who owns the sign can only be held responsible for the damage if they had been negligent.
The insurance company added that can be very difficult to prove.