B.C. Supreme Court orders defendants in vehicle fraud ring to pay about $850,000 in damages
July 11, 2012 by Canadian Underwriter
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The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered defendants in a vehicle fraud scheme to pay damages, including punitive damages, to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
The court reportedly ordered 11 or so defendants to pay a total of about $850,000 in damages in connection with a vehicle fraud scheme that operated throughout 2002 and 2003.
As plaintiff, ICBC sought judgment for conspiracy and/or conversion against a number of defendants in connection to vehicles that had been wrongfully acquired and resold after insurance money had been paid out, Justice Austin Cullen, associate chief justice for the court, writes in Insurance Corporation of British Columbia v. Awla, released on July 9.
ICBC alleged dozens of vehicles were disguised, “resulting in a total of approximately $2 million in insurance claims that were honoured by ICBC.”
This action, one of several brought by ICBC, involves seven vehicles wrongfully acquired between Feb. 17 and June 2, 2002. Overall, a dozen vehicles were at issue, some of which were subjected to more than one theft or extensible theft.
“The conspiracy defendants whom I have found liable, were involved to some degree or another in a well-organized and executed criminal enterprise to defraud the plaintiff of a significant amount of money,” Justice Cullen writes. “The cost to the plaintiff is, of course, the cost to the motoring public.”
With regard to special damages, the ruling cites approximate totals of $182,497 for Harpreet Awla; $127,342 for Cheri Kostynick; $102,816 for Vikram Atwal; $95,752 for Sandeep Rai; and $58,228 for Jason Smith.
“I am satisfied that the special damages ordered, while reflective of the direct costs consequent on the actions of the defendants relative to the individual vehicles, does not fully address the need to accomplish the objectives of retribution, deterrence and denunciation for which punitive damages are awarded, given that the defendants face no criminal sanction for their conduct,” the court decision states.
For punitive damages, the largest amounts for defendants are $100,000 for Vikram Atwal; $60,000 for Harpreet Awla; and $20,000 for Gurpreet Awla.
The full case can be found at:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/12/09/2012BCSC0998.htm
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