"We hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your wedding day. Sorry, not sorry."
A wedding videographer has sparked online fury after refusing to refund a client whose fiancee died, threatening a lawsuit, and openly mocking him during his time of grief.
In February, Alexis Wyatt, 22, died in a car crash in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her fiance, Justin Montney, 24, attempted to get back the $1,800 deposit the couple had given to Copper Stallion Media to film their wedding on May 23.
The company refused, saying it was non-refundable, but Montney thought they could make an exception considering the special circumstances and the fact that "they didn't render any services,” according to KRDO-TV.
Montney also claimed that Copper Stallion Media said they could extend his service to his next wedding, which Mortney said "was a very insensitive thing to tell me."
They deleted their page, but not before making complete asses of themselves :)
— big anime tinnitus (@alyssughjo) May 23, 2020 @alyssughjo
We can all agree fuck Copper Stallion Media. I don’t know a single photographer with morals that would act like this. pic.twitter.com/6prfAWVj3q
Per CBS News, the company's since-deleted website read, "We replied and expressed our sympathy and explained to him that all of our wedding contracts are non-refundable.
"He kept emailing us trying to get a refund and we kept reiterating that the contract is non-refundable. We eventually stopped responding since the issue was moot."
After months of not hearing from the company, Montney and Wyatt's family left negative reviews on TheKnot and Yelp, which Montney says prompted Copper Stallion Media to threaten a lawsuit for defamation.
At this point, Montney decided to take his story public, reaching out to KRDO.
Wow. #CopperStallionMedia didn’t bat an eye when immediately responding to my post. “It’s not our fault she can’t drive” pic.twitter.com/bYfmyxRZ1k
— Cate Carson (@catecarson) May 27, 2020 @catecarson
"At first I was just going to tell friends and family, but when he started to threaten Alexis's family with a lawsuit for basically their daughter dying, that's when I was like, 'OK, I'm going to start going to the people who spread the news," he told the news source.
Copper Stallion Media retaliated by redirecting its website and Yelp page to a new website JustinMontney.com, accusing Montney of creating a "smear campaign," according to ABC News7.
The website's content has mostly been removed, but, per the outlet, it stated, "He admits the contract was nonrefundable but says we should give the money back due to the circumstance. Life is a b--ch, Justin."
The website then reportedly said Montney's non-refundable deposit was used to register JustinMontney.com.
"He could have quietly filed a small claim to 'try' to recoup the non-refundable deposit. Instead, he chose the internet to shake us down," a statement read. "This website is registered with us for the next two years. Thanks to your non-refundable deposit, you support this website and domain. Welcome to the interwebs you stupid s--t."
The videographer company's retaliation didn't stop there.
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View StoryOn May 23, the day the couple were to be married, the company posted a photo of the pair with the caption, "Today would have been the day where we would have filmed Justin and Alexis' wedding. After what Justin pulled with the media stunt to try and shake us down for a refund we hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your wedding day."
"We will NEVER refund Justin Montney even with the online threats and harassment," the website continued. "If we knew he was going to shake us down, we would have charged a higher deposit."
Twitter blew up criticizing the "heartless" actions of Copper Mountain Media.
"We can all agree f--k Copper Stallion Media. I don't know a single photographer with morals that would act like this."
In another awful twist, a Twitter user captured a since-deleted tweet by Copper Stallion Media which appeared to suggest Montney's smear campaign was responsible for the recent suicide of one of its employees, Allison Davis.
"We are in contact with local authorities to see what can be done in terms of criminal charges. We are also reaching out to legal counsel to see what legal action we can take to obtain a judgment for damages. No company should have to go through this…" the since-deleted tweet read.
However, other followers raised doubts about the timing of the death of Allison Davis, posting a tweet by the company in December 2018 announcing her death.
Meanwhile, a videographer who worked for Copper Stallion Media told ABC News 7 he left the company because he was not getting paid.
When his final check appeared 3 months after he quit, Alex Murphy noticed the payment wasn't from Copper Stallion Media, but from Organized Weddings, LLC.
The Las Vegas address of Organized Weddings, LLC is linked to a Jesse J. Clark, per the news outlet.
In 2013, the Massachusetts Attorney General sued Clark for receiving payment from 90 couples and "never delivering on their wedding videography."
As for Montney, he appears to be unfazed by the threats.
"[The company's owner] is trying to stir up a ruckus and defame my name, but obviously he doesn't have any ground to stand on," Montney told Buzzfeed. "He kind of made his own smear campaign."
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