A long-standing civil matter involving two funeral homes in Oliver has finally been laid to rest.
The operators of Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service & Crematorium face hefty fines following a Supreme Court of BC judgment relating to their actions against another funeral home in the community.
Last spring Justice N. Smith ruled punitive damages (more than $280,000) against John Nunes and Daryn Pottinger. Nunes was hit with an additional fine of $10,000.
The case outlined that Graham Funeral Home (the plaintiff) was the only funeral business in Oliver until its long-time manager (Nunes) resigned to open a competing business, taking the entire staff with him. Graham sought damages for theft and misuse of confidential information, improper solicitation of its clients, and unfair competition.
The defendants (Nunes-Pottinger) admitted to some “errors in judgment,” particularly the copying of client files, but denied this caused Graham any significant loss.
“They say that because of their reputation and experience in the community, any business they attracted from Graham would have come to them in any event,” said Smith.
Contacted by the Chronicle, Nunes said he would prefer not to comment on the case because “it is a civil matter.”
Smith said Nunes and Pottinger were in clear breach of their duty not to misuse confidential information obtained from their former employer. This consisted of transferring pre-need funeral contracts from Graham to Nunes-Pottinger. However, Smith said there is no doubt that Nunes’ standing in the community would have led some clients to transfer their contracts anyway.
The justice said although Nunes remains well-known and respected in the community, Graham manager Blaine Krist has gone to great lengths to offset that advantage by also becoming active in a variety of community organizations and activities.
In Smith’s judgment, it was noted that Nunes admits he has engaged in conduct that merits condemnation. This includes the removal of files and other material and denying any wrongdoing until it became obvious that Graham had the evidence.
But Smith said the plaintiff, to some extent, was the author of its own misfortune. He noted that Nunes and Pottinger offered to buy Graham Funeral Home, but the company provided no firm response to the offer.
The justice said Graham was under no obligation to sell, but “clearly it should have known that failing to respond to Mr. Nunes’ and Mr Pottinger’s offers and leading them along for almost two years would provoke a negative reaction.”