Canadian Lawyer

Regional wrap-up Come Hell or High River: Flooded lawyers stay afloat Continued from page 13 into the basement making the whole building unusable. For more than a month he and his staff had to operate out of a friendly local accounting firm. But he believes the real impact has been on the people of High River. "They were frustrated and stressed," he says, "and needed the help of a lawyer." He will never forget one woman who had recently lost her husband, and now had lost her home. "God is against me," she told Arnold as she wept in his makeshift office. "You cry, you vent," he counselled. "Tomorrow we'll try to fix the problem." Lawyers in Slave Lake, Alta., a community ravaged by a huge fire in May 2011, know better than most what lawyers in flood-ravaged Calgary and High River went through. More than 500 buildings in Slave Lake, about two hours north of Edmonton, were either destroyed or severely damaged in the wildfire that swept through much of the community. While no law offices were consumed in the blaze, phone and Internet services were knocked out and the entire town was closed by emergency officials so crews could restore and protect what was left. Like practitioners in High River it meant Slave Lake lawyers, for a period of time, could not close deals, meet deadlines, or transfer vital documents and financial instruments. Nor could they meet the needs of desperate clients who suddenly had to have legal advice. As in High River most of the firms were able to find other locations, get back into business within a few days, and start fixing at least some of the problems the fire created. Richard A. Verhaeghe, whose firm moved into Slave Lake just a few months after the fire, says his firm nevertheless learned some valuable lessons from other practitioners. The chief lesson? "Businesses must back up everything," Verhaeghe advises, "and the back-ups must be off-site." He notes many clients were underinsured, so much so that he had his own office insurance reviewed and found it was significantly lacking. Just like the Boy Scouts, lawyers have got to "be prepared." — Geoff Ellwand writerlaw@gmail.com Civil claims dogging more criminal cases C ivil claims for damages piled on top of criminal charges are becoming more common as insurance companies and businesses find it easy to launch such a suit and recoup dollars once criminal convictions have been obtained. Most people have "zero idea about the civil consequences" of the criminal offence they are accused of, says Vancouver criminal lawyer Phil Rankin. Criminal lawyers have not done well in counselling their clients about the risk of downstream civil suits that can flow from a criminal case, he says. But, it is an area of growing importance as more civil litigation emerges. Rankin says it is now common even in shoplifting cases for those individuals convicted to receive a request from the store, especially if it is a major retailer, for compensation under threat of civil action. Vancouver's Stanley Cup riots had a major impact on criminalrelated civil claims with police now having recommended 1,204 charges against 352 individuals. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. hired Singleton Urquhart LLP to recover the $500,000 it has paid out in claims for 77 damaged and destroyed vehicles. Just a day short of two years since the riots, on June 15, ICBC filed actions against 43 individuals charged or convicted. Jane Doe and John Doe have been named for individuals who have charges pending or who are later charged. The ICBC damage figure could increase substantially beyond $500,000. "In the civil claim, we are seeking general damages, special damages, aggravated damages, punitive damages, interest, and costs," says ICBC spokesman Adam Grossman. The insurer does have the option to withhold insurance coverage and licences to those who fail to pay their civil damage settlements. "We always 14 September 2013 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m look for opportunities to recover costs. This [riot] situation was extremely unique," says Grossman, but ICBC has undertaken litigation in the past to recover funds plus seeking and receiving punitive damages. A major case was the civil prosecution of 89 individuals charged in a B.C. and Alberta auto theft ring, with prosecutions starting in 2010 and yielding over $500,000 in recovered costs and punitive damages by 2011. Grossman says ICBC is using external counsel, such as Singleton Urquhart, in the riot suits on a case-by-case basis. Mario Fiorino, senior counsel for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says an insurance company has the legal right, if not the obligation to other shareholders and policyholders, to pursue claims against individuals who intentionally cause losses. The highprofile Stanley Cup riots are a game changer to the extent there was police and political determination to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible, he notes. As a result, social media and new technology played a key role in identifying individuals whom, in the past, may have escaped prosecution, as they were faceless in a mob action. "There are now consequences to group-think or mob mentality and social media has unmasked the identity of these individuals and they can face both possible criminal and civil consequences," he says, noting other jurisdictions would no doubt borrow from the Vancouver riot experience using the technology and ability to identify individuals. "I think we will definitely see more of this." Vancouver insurance lawyer Neo Tuytel says he doesn't see insurance companies going after individuals as "a general phenomena." "I don't know about insurance companies generally, but my gut sense is that you will probably see one of the major insurance

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