Thornitt v. ICBC
Jeffery Thornitt
Law Firm / Organization
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Lawyer(s)

Judith Kennedy

JST Custom Timber Ltd.
Law Firm / Organization
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Lawyer(s)

Judith Kennedy

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Law Firm / Organization
Hemmerling Law
Lawyer(s)

Michael Prah

  • Facts: Jeffery Thornitt and JST Custom Timber Ltd. sought indemnity from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) for a pick-up truck destroyed by fire on September 28, 2015. Thornitt had parked the vehicle while scouting for moose, and upon return, found it ablaze. ICBC denied the claim, suggesting potential fraud due to Thornitt's history of insurance claims involving vehicle fires.

  • Issue: The main issue was whether ICBC could amend its defense to include allegations of fraud based on Thornitt's past claims and thereby deny the indemnity for the truck based on these allegations.

  • Court's Ruling: The court denied ICBC’s request to amend its defense to include specific allegations of fraud based on past incidents. The judge ruled that mentioning past fire claims without direct allegations of fraud was insufficient to substantiate a fraud defense in this instance. However, ICBC was allowed to maintain a general fraud defense if it could argue that Thornitt intentionally set the fire and lied about it.

  • Costs/Damages Awarded: The document provided does not specify the costs or damages awarded following the court's decision on the amendment request. Typically, such details would be decided in subsequent proceedings or trials focusing on the main indemnity and bad faith claims.

Supreme Court of British Columbia
S112711
Insurance law
Plaintiff