HEARING FILE NUMBER: 20-09-004
IN THE MATTER OF THE MOTOR DEALER ACT, R.S.B.C. 1996 C.316AND THE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, S.B.C. 2004, C.2
DATE OF DECISION: April 29, 2021
COMPLAINANT: Vehicle Sales Authority of BC (the โAuthorityโ)
LICENSEE/UNLICENSED PERSON: Brian David Rowe (Licence #106494)
INTRODUCTION:
On September 22, 2020 the Authority issued a Notice of Hearing against Brian Rowe, along with the Affidavit of Investigation Officer Bryan Reid. Investigation Officer Bryan Reidโs Affidavit showed that Brian Rowe conducted at least 16 sales of motor vehicles posing as a manager of two different motor dealers, when he was not a manager of either and was not authorized to sell motor vehicles by either dealer.
On December 22, 2020, the Registrar rendered a decision which found that Brian Rowe did not act with honesty or integrity and misrepresented to a consumer that they were dealing with a registered motor dealer when they were not. The Registrar found no evidence that Brian Rowe was remorseful of his conduct or that he intended on changing his behaviour and he therefore revoked Brian Roweโs salesperson licence. As there was another ongoing, active investigation involving Brian Rowe at the time of the Registrarโs decision, the Registrar also prohibited Brian Rowe from re-applying for a salesperson licence until the results of this active investigation regarding his activities were known.
In or around March of 2021, Brian Rowe requested the Registrarโs December 22, 2020 Decision be reconsidered and provided a written statement outlining his reasons for the request.
ISSUES:
The Authority alleged that Salesperson Rowe:
The Registrarโs decision to revoke Brian Roweโs salesperson licence can be reconsidered under sections 26.11 and 26.12 of the Motor Dealer Act. In order for the Registrar to cancel or vary this previous decision, the following legislative requirements must be met:
OUTCOME
After reviewing the request for reconsideration of Brian Rowe, the Registrar found none of the evidence advanced in Brian Roweโs request was new evidence as that term is defined in the legislation and some of the evidence that was provided only further confirmed some of the original findings in the Registrarโs December 22, 2020 Decision. Therefore, the Registrar is without legal authority to cancel or vary his December 22, 2020 Decision and the request for reconsideration is denied.
LEGISLATION CITED
Motor Dealer Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 316
Business Practices and Consumer Act, S.B.C., 2004, c. 2
Salesperson Licensing Regulation, B.C. Reg. 202/2017
Motor Dealer Act Regulation , B.C. Reg. 447/78
CASES CITED
