The Supreme Court of Yukon has ordered a local heating and plumbing company to honour its 100-per-cent money-back guarantee and pay a Porter Creek pair nearly $16,000.

According to a decision released this week, the plaintiffs, Tawnya Griffis and Brent Bjork, were dissatisfied with the performance of the furnace system

installed by Fireweed Home Comfort in early 2010.

The day after the new furnace was installed, Griffis called Fireweed to complain that the new furnace was noisy; that the basement was hot, while the upstairs was cold; and that the house felt dry.

Fireweed's president, Don Fulmer came to the home and made some adjustments.

In the days that followed, the couple continued to complain and the company continued to make adjustments.

Fulmer recommended that additional ductwork be installed to improve the air distribution of the furnace system.

About three weeks after the system was installed, the couple asked Fireweed to honour the guarantee by removing the furnace and ductwork and refunding the purchase price, court documents says.

Fireweed refused.

It claimed it had not yet had a chance to finish its work by making further adjustments to the operation of the furnace system.

Fireweed argued that its work had to be "complete” before the 100-per-cent guarantee came into effect.

They couple eventually had the system replaced themselves.

In his decision, Justice Leigh Gower noted there is surprisingly little case authority involving disputes about "money-back” guarantees.

Fireweed's argument that the work needed to be "complete” before the 100-per-cent guarantee took effect is supported by the language in the guarantee:

"We guarantee that the equipment we have installed will perform as we have stated,” the justice said.

"I agree that the past tense of these words suggests that Fireweed must be given an opportunity to complete the installation of the hardware before the 100-per-cent guarantee takes effect,” Gower writes.

"However, Fulmer's email to the plaintiffs on Feb. 25, 2010 confirmed that the ‘Duct installation was started on Feb. 9 and completed on Feb. 12'.

"That fact was further confirmed in Fireweed's invoice to the plaintiffs for the ductwork. Thus, there was no further ‘equipment' left to install.”

Fireweed argued it is only "common sense” to interpret the 100-per-cent guarantee to mean that the completion of the installation must include an opportunity for Fireweed to make the necessary adjustments.

"The logical result of this argument is that Fireweed should be able to determine, in its sole discretion, when the 100-per-cent guarantee becomes effective.

"Indeed, Fulmer's submission at the hearing was, ‘Once we tell them we're complete, we're complete.'

"In other words, the purchasers may have to wait for an unspecified amount of time, which presumably could be 30, 60 or 90 days, or more, for Fireweed to make that determination,” the justice said.

"However, the unqualified language used by Fireweed in the 100-per-cent guarantee does not allow for such an interpretation. The argument invites me to imply or read into the 100-per-cent guarantee a condition which is simply not present, i.e. that Fireweed must be given an opportunity to make adjustments to the system before the purchasers can claim that they are dissatisfied with it.

"On the contrary, the plain language of the 100-per-cent guarantee is that, once the equipment has been installed: ‘If the system does not heat or cool your home to your satisfaction, we will remove it and return 100 per cent of your investment.'”

The judge later concludes: "In short, the 100-per-cent guarantee is virtually unconditional, and there is no implied condition that Fireweed be given a reasonable opportunity to make adjustments to the furnace system.”

The nearly $16,000 covers the cost of the system and other damages.