Posts Tagged ‘ Canucks ’

Stanley Cup Riot Lawsuit: For First Time, Blenz Coffee is Bitter

June 28th, 2011. By AbiK

And rightfully so.

No sooner had the Vancouver Canucks blown game 7 of the Stanley Cup when, as everyone knows, a group of Canadian fans became a wild mob trashing cars, flipping over port-a-potties and vandalizing whatever they could. As if having sh*t strewn all over the streets and a bonfire of bucket seats and quarter panels would somehow either return the Stanley Cup to its non-rightful owners or avenge the loss. Please.

One target of the vandals was Blenz Coffee. And, I should say, not just one Blenz Coffee location, but three of them.

According to a press release from Blenz (6/23/11), the worst of the damage occured at their West Georgia and Richards location—the store was “completely demolished and looted.”

Enough, perhaps, to leave one a bit bitter. Bitter enough to file a lawsuit. Which Blenz has done.

Blenz Coffee has become a bit of an iconic underdog in Vancouver it would seem. Their 30 locations (with one new one on Abbott St) have been a mainstay in Vancouver since Blenz opened its first store in 1992 on Robson St. The very fact that it’s thrived in the face—or in the shadows—of Starbucks’ 123 Vancouver locations says something. Starbucks is all US. Blenz is all Canadian. It should be a source of pride, not to mention coffee that’s “never burnt, never bitter”.

I’m sure  for Blenz, which filed the riot lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, they felt rather betwixt and between about the whole mess. Just as their patrons, they are Vancouverites. And undoubtedly Canucks fans. Filing the lawsuit must feel like it borders on betrayal—both coming and going. On the one hand, Blenz must feel betrayed by fans who’ve most certainly had a Blenz latte macchiato (well, at least perhaps a regular coffee); and on the flip side, Blenz having little option but to reciprocate that betrayal by filing a lawsuit against those locals who damaged their stores.

And it’s not just property damage and theft here. The vandals at one Blenz location trapped the franchisee, two staff members and a customer in a back room and “terrorized” them for over two hours. Why pray tell? All because some guys on skates couldn’t get a five and a half ounce blob of vulcanized rubber into a net more times than their opponent? (and for the record, I’m not a Bruins fan—if it’s not the Rangers, Islanders or Devils, I could give a crap). Oh, but wait, I clearly don’t understand that this is NHL Hockey we’re talking about here…

The betwixt and between nature of this is clear by the very fact that Blenz is hopeful that the few perpetrators who wrecked their stores will come forward, ahead of the riot lawsuit to rightfully take responsibility and rectify things. It’s a gift to the vandals, quite frankly, to redeem themselves and do the right thing. (Note to perp defendants, see our section on Criminal Law for outline of possible punishments.)

And, should they not do so, have no fear, Blenz has “extensive video and still picture evidence” of all the goings-on that fateful night. Not to mention the number of smart phone camera clicks taken at the scenes that night along with Facebook and Flickr posts, realtime tweets and eyewitness tips coming into police and/or the company. Translation? If you thought you’d just sleaze by under the radar on this one, good luck…your riot lawsuit awaits.

According to the Toronto Sun, estimates put the damage of the Stanley Cup rioting in Vancouver at about CA$5 million (just over $5 million US), with about 60 businesses affected by the damage and looting. The president of Blenz Coffee, George Moen, has told QMI Agency the company is claiming civil damages for property vandalism and theft along with punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages, and special costs. According to the report, Moen put the damage to the Blenz stores at “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.

All that, and the Cup still stands in Boston.

Tags: Blenz Coffee, Bruins, Canucks, Looting, Property Damage, Riot Lawsuit, Stanley Cup, Vancouver Riot, Vandalism
Posted in Emerging Issues, lawsuits | No Comments »