HALIFAX -- An avid eBay bidder in Halifax has won a legal battle against Canada Post over a mangled Conner McDavid hockey card.
Representing himself, David Wayne Clark told Nova Scotia small claims court he recently purchased the Edmonton Oilers collectible in an online auction for $140 with plans to resell it for more than double that price.
A week earlier, Clark had discovered his slot in his Spryfield community mailbox was insecure. He told the court he alerted Canada Post of the problem and was told his mail would be held at the main post office until the lock was fixed.
Despite these assurances, Clark said he periodically checked the mailbox. He testified mail was still being delivered to his box and some pieces were tampered with - including the valuable hockey card.
"He says that he found the envelope containing the Conner McDavid card in his mailbox completely destroyed - ripped up," adjudicator Eric Slone wrote in his opinion. "He was, of course, furious."
As its sole witness, Canada Post called Paul Messervey, the letter carrier who delivers to the mailbox along his daily route. Messervey told the court he kept the mail and delivered it to Clark personally during the period in question.
In his decision, Slone found it was more likely than not that some of the mail was insecurely delivered and had been vandalized.
"My finding does not rest on a belief that (Mr.) Messervey was lying; rather, it is more likely that an error was made and some mail must have been delivered by his assistant," he wrote. "As for (Clark) himself, he seemed basically credible and I am unwilling to find that he made all of this up."
Slone found Canada Post was negligent in delivering the mail to a defective box where it could be vandalized.
He awarded Clark the full amount for which he purchased the card plus potential profit for a total of nearly $240.
