The government of BC may be preparing to back ICBC in an appeal of a $350,000 award against ICBC for malicious prosecution. Transportation Minister Todd Stone indicated that ICBC may be considering an appeal.
This is in a case where employees of ICBC were found to be getting enjoyment out of causing difficulty to innocent accident victims. When the ICBC defence lawyer sent an email message to the ICBC bodily injury adjuster saying that she had contacted “Legal Aid” to confirm the funding approval, and may have “touched off a bit of an investigation at Legal Aid, the ICBC bodily injury adjuster emailed back stating, “Whooohooo, sounds good! I think an official SIU enquiry with Legal Aid ought to assist, hmm?” The court’s comments about the behaviour of the ICBC adjuster was unreserved,
[334] It has to be kept in mind that this email response was by an employee of a Crown corporation writing to the corporation’s legal counsel, not simply an off-the-cuff remark by one co-worker to another, blowing off steam. I find that this email message reveals at least two things. First, that [the ICBC adjuster] took inordinate pleasure in causing difficulty for Mr. Renaud’s client in pursuing an appeal. Second, that he thought it would be useful to involve the criminal investigation powers of ICBC, through the SIU, to help achieve that objective. This shows that within ICBC, or at least within the close working relationship of [the ICBC adjuster] and [the ICBC investigator], the lines were blurred between legitimate defence of a civil claim, and illegitimate abuse of criminal investigatory powers
The ICBC adjuster, who was still an employee of ICBC when this case went to trial, was a polished witness but his evidence appeared rehearsed and cagey on points that were difficult for him to explain, such as certain prejudicial notes and emails which he created at the time of handling this file. The ICBC adjuster’s evidence regarding these documents did not accord with the preponderance of evidence.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.
