For ICBC, money must really grow on trees. In this car accident injury case the claimant delivered a formal offer to settle for $398,000 less what had already been paid by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC. The defendants countered with a settlement offer of $238,000 less what had already been paid by ICBC. The Court awarded $721,053.63 plus double costs.(Crookall v. Higby,2018 BCSC 1544)
The claimant was successfully in this application for double costs from the date of their offer to the end of the trial. The formal offer rule, 9-1, is intended to encourage early settlement of civil claims by rewarding people that make a reasonable settlement offer. The rule is also designed to penalize parties like ICBC that refuse to accept reasonable offers to settle.
The court referred to Evans v. Jensen, 2011 BCCA 279, in the analysis at para 42:
Settlements made to avoid the cost and delay associated with protracted litigation are an essential part of a healthy system for the resolution of disputes.
Importantly, Rule 9-1(6)(a), must be considered with reference to the recipient’s knowledge of the circumstances as they existed at the time the offer was made. In this case it was obvious that ICBC was aware of the circumstances of the claimant when it refused to settle.
Learn more about making a reasonable offer to settle with ICBC.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.- Representing the injured in BC since 1995