COURTENAY, British Columbia — An effort to launch a class-action lawsuit against CPKC, Canadian National Railway, and other parties over the wildfire that destroyed the Village of Lytton, B.C., in 2021 was turned down Wednesday by the British Columbia Supreme Court.
But the Vancouver Sun reports Chief Justice Christopher E. Hickson left room for the case to proceed if the plaintiff addressed deficiencies in defining the standards of cause, common interest, classes of people represented, and how the case will be carried out that must be met to be certified as a class action.
Jordan Spinks, chief of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, is the plaintiff in the suit; another representative plantiff recently died. As outlined by the law firm involved, the action is being brought on behalf of the individuals or estates who suffered injury or death in the fire, were displaced, or suffered property loss or business disruption. It claims the railroads and various equipment manufacturers were negligent in causing or contributing to the fire.
The June 30, 2021, fire killed two people and destroyed most of Lytton, displacing about 250 people. The town has yet to be rebuilt. The fire started near a CN rail line shortly after the passage of a CP train operated by CN (the railroads operate paired trackage through the area). While the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was unable to determine a train caused the fire, the incident ultimately led Transport Canada to impose new operating rules to address fire risks.
The village and its local regional district also filed suit against the railroads and Transport Canada earlier this year [see “Village destroyed by wildfire sues …,” Trains News Wire, June 22, 2023].
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