Canadian hockey fans take losing seriously.
B.C.’s government insurer is suing 46 people to recover more than $526,000 of insured damage caused to cars during the 2011 Stanley Cup hockey riot in Vancouver.
ICBC has filed a notice of civil claim in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against individuals who have been charged or convicted for their actions throughout downtown Vancouver following a Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the deciding game of the Stanley Cup final on June 15, 2011.
Approximately 55,000 people gathered to watch Game 7 of the Stanley final at an outdoor viewing site the City of Vancouver established on West Georgia Street. Shortly before the Canucks lost the game 4-0, a Nissan Versa was overturned at the public viewing area and set on fire.
A subsequent riot involved thousands of people and caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage to at least 112 businesses and 122 motor vehicles, including 24 police and emergency vehicles, according to the Insurance Corporation of B.C.’s statement of claim. The contents of the statement of claim have not been proven in court.
ICBC’s notice of claim lists 77 vehicles for which the insurer is on the hook. The notice shows that the insurer has already made claims payments for 67 of the listed vehicles, with damages totaling more than half a million dollars.
In addition to suing the defendants to recover the cost of the claims, ICBC has asked for general damages, special damages, aggravated damages, punitive damages, interest and costs.
“ICBC has a responsibility to protect our customers’ premium dollars and is taking legal action to recover the costs of these acts of vandalism to ensure they are not passed on to our customers,” the insurer said in a statement.
