The owner of a popular gelato shop located near Vancouver's Athletes' Village is suing Olympic organizers and the municipal, provincial and federal governments for disrupting his business with road construction leading up to the 2010 Winter Games.
Mario's Gelati Ltd., Amato Gelato Ltd., Villa Amato Ballroom Ltd. and Espresso Holdings Ltd. are seeking damages for negligence, nuisance, breach of statute, negligent misrepresentation and/or conspiracy related to road construction that he was allegedly told would last one month in the spring of 2009 but ended up lasting seven.
He claims to have lost in excess of $2.5 million.
He is also seeking compensation for the closure of the road outside the businesses without legal justification and is seeking an injunction prohibiting the continued closure of the road without legal justification along with damages.
According to the gelato shop owner's claim "the defendants had knowledge of the devastating financial impact which construction would have on the plaintiffs' business if construction were to impede access to Mario's premise in the summer season."
According to court documents, the defendants' caused and continue to cause loss and damage, including the complete inability to rent Mario's premises to organizations seeking space prior to and during the Olympic period for which Mario's premises and its banquet facilities were and are ideally suited.
Road closures and security fencing further disrupted access to the business during the Games.