A riot officer watches as two police cars burn during a riot in downtown Vancouver, Wednesday, June 15, 2011 following the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley Cup hockey finalRyan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Nearly five years to the day after rioters tore through Vancouver's downtown core, leaving a smouldering trail of destruction, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that select rioters must repay B.C.'s Crown auto insurer for damages.
However, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elliott Myers declined to award punitive damages, saying the rioters had already been convicted criminally. "There comes a point when 'enough is enough,' " he wrote in his judgment, released Thursday.
The Insurance Corp. of B.C. had filed a civil claim in June, 2013, against 47 people who were charged or convicted for their roles in the June 15, 2011 Stanley Cup riot. It also named a Jane Doe and John Doe to represent those who either had charges pending or would be named at a later time.
The claim sought damages, interests and costs for 77 vehicles that were either damaged or entirely destroyed, with losses totalling more than half-a-million dollars. The claim said the defendants were joined in a common unlawful purpose and are jointly liable for damages.
In his judgment, Justice Myers said that the riot happened spontaneously and there was no evidence to suggest the defendants had acted in concert with a common goal of destruction. Further, it would be too broad to assume a person who photographed a vehicle, or merely touched a vehicle, was equally liable as someone who helped flip it over.
Instead, Justice Myers ruled that potential liability had to be examined vehicle by vehicle. He named 10 rioters and ruled on their liability relating to the damage of various vehicles. He asked ICBC to prepare new written submissions on damages based on his legal and factual rulings.
"After this has been done, I will provide a decision with respect to the amount of the defendants' liabilities," he wrote.
The downtown crowd comprised roughly 155,000 people, according to an independent review into the riot. The total estimated monetary loss was about $3.8-million, while extra Crown staff required for prosecutions cost about $5-million.
Andrea Woo