Former Mountie wins ‘love handles’ case against Nova Scotia spa

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A former RCMP superintendent who shelled out thousands of dollars at a Halifax spa in an effort to eliminate his “love handles” is entitled to a full refund, according to a new decision out of Nova Scotia’s small claims court.

Martin Anthony Marin took Bodyworks Med Spa & Wellness Incorporated to court, looking to get back the $3,622.50 that he paid the spa in November 2023 for six body sculpting treatments.

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“It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, the saying is not one that fits easily within the confines of contract law,” Augustus M. Richardson, the adjudicator, said in a recent decision.

The spa promised results, Marin told the court.

“However, after following all of the treatment guidelines and not seeing any notable improvement, Bodyworks failed to honour their Emsculpt Neo Results promise and retreat me for free,” he said.

Bodyworks, which specializes in non-invasive body contouring with no downtime, had promised that if a client follows the spa’s recommendations when going through the treatment “and there is no visible difference three months following completion of the treatment plan,” the company will re-treat them for free.

The spa argued Marin “did not follow the recommended treatment plan. After starting it, he decided to change his treatment plan by using different applicators to treat a different area of his body. Also, the photos of his before/after results show a visible difference in his body.”

The spa declined to re-treat him for free.

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The treatment involved using “a machine that transmits radio frequency and high intensity-focused electromagnetic energies via applicators to parts of the body,” said the adjudicator.

“In the case before me there were two different types of applicators. One was similar to a vest that was strapped to the front of the body, running from below the rib cage to the hips, and which focused the energies on the front of the abdomen. The other, sometimes called ‘paddles’ by the claimant, was a form of clamp that was attached to the side of the abdomen — that is, in this case, to the love handles.”

I am unable to see any visible difference

The spa’s promise came with a caveat: “Our Emsculpt Neo Results Promise only applies if you follow the recommended treatment plan within the recommended timeline and participate in our active partnership, which includes staying hydrated, doing some form of exercise during your weekly routine, and managing your weight. Overall weight must remain the same or go down between your first treatment and follow up appointment without notable fluctuations.”

It noted the promise “does not apply if you smoke or drink excessively.”

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Marin is physically fit and has always remained active, Richardson said in his decision dated Jan. 13.

“However, some time before the events in question he had suffered he had a serious stroke. He had made considerable progress in his rehabilitation, but still experienced some balance issues,” said the adjudicator.

“He testified that he had always been physically fit and active, but that no matter how much he exercised he had been unable to reduce the love handles on the side of his abdomen.”

Marin met with Kaylee Langor, an aesthetician and manager at the spa, in late November 2023.

Marin testified “they discussed fat reduction, and core strengthening and balance control. He testified he mentioned his concern about his love handles, and lifted his shirt to show her. He told her that in all his years he had never been able to get rid of them. He asked her if the Emsculpt Neo treatment would help with them, and she said that it would.”

Langor testified that Marin’s “main concern was core strength and balance control, stemming from his stroke, and his midsection area. She said that she did not recall love handles being mentioned, but that the discussion was more about ‘the midsection as a whole,’ gesturing to the side of her body down from the bottom of her rib cage to her hips, and across the front.”

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Marin had his first treatment on Jan. 5, 2024.

His wife testified that “she was surprised that the applicator used had not focused on Mr. Marin’s love handles. She and he felt that the treatment should focus more clearly on his love handles.”

The spa responded, reassuring her that “Martin is still going to get a great result.”

Marin kept going for more treatments, but the adjudicator was “satisfied that there was a difference in how” they were being applied.

“During the first session on Jan. 5, 2024, the energies were being applied by way of a ‘vest’ that focused on the front abdomen. After the discussion between Mr. and Mrs. Marin and Ms. Langor that occurred on January 8th, Ms. Langor switched to using a ‘paddle,’ or applicator, that was clamped to the side love handles.”

There was no evidence that Langor had told Marin “that the switch from the vest to the edge applicator would negate or limit the promise in any way,” said the adjudicator.

In May of last year, Marin was seen by Leah Decker, another aesthetician technologist at the spa, for his three-month follow-up appointment.

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“He stated he didn’t see much a difference, but maybe a little,” Decker testified.

Marin had dropped a few pounds, she noted.

“We noticed a little bit of his back fat is gone but that is not the area we treated. He was semi-disappointed with his results.”

Marin was adamant that his “purchase came with a promise that in the event there was no visible improvement he would be re-treated. He did all he was supposed to do, but there was no visible improvement.”

The spa broke the promise, he argued, so he was entitled to get his money back.

Catherine Crosby, who owns the spa, told the court the business “does not offer or provide refunds — only re-treatment. But Mr. Marin changed the recommended treatment, which meant, in effect, that he had not completed the original recommended treatment. Moreover, the (spa) could not re-treat someone who had treatment in one area and then switched to five treatments in a different area. The change in treatments meant that the promise was voided.”

The adjudicator wasn’t buying it.

Richardson concluded that Marin “did mention his love handles in the original consultation, and that the need to address them fell within the original treatment plan” for his midsection.

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The adjudicator noted Marin’s “love handles are prominent in the ‘before’ photos taken by the (spa). That prominence lends weight to the probability that his concern existed, and would have been discussed.”

Richardson acknowledged “that there is no mention of love handles per se in Ms. Langor’s original file … However, there is also no mention of any specific part of his body other than ‘mid section’ in her note.

The adjudicator was “satisfied on the evidence that Mr. Marin’s love handles were part of his treatment plan or, in the alternative, that the shift from the front abdomen vest applicator on the first visit to the edge clamps on the remaining five did not constitute a change in treatment sufficient to negate or void the promise.”

The adjudicator reviewed Marin’s before and after photos.

“I am unable to see any visible difference,” Richardson said.

He concluded that Marin had “fulfilled the requirements of the promise, and was entitled to a re-treatment for free.”

Refusing that “constituted a breach of the promise,” Richardson said.

He ordered the spa to pay Marin $3,622.50.

Marin does not appear to have been active in the RCMP for several years, but given two days, the police force couldn’t confirm whether he was retired or not.

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