B.C. ferry sinking lawsuit settled
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 5:08 PM PT
The Canadian Press
Dozens of passengers who scrambled off the Queen of the North as the ferry began sinking near Prince Rupert, B.C., in 2006 have settled a class-action lawsuit for $350,000.
However, after legal fees are subtracted, the more than 40 passengers eligible for the settlement will have only $140,000 to split among them.
The passengers filed the lawsuit against BC Ferries after the vessel ran aground in March 2006.
Two people are missing and presumed to have died when the ferry sank. Ninety-nine passengers and crew survived after the vessel sank near Gil Island, off B.C.'s north coast.
A document filed in B.C. Supreme Court by the passengers' lawyer ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday said most of the money will go toward legal costs.
The families of the two people who died in the accident settled out of court for undisclosed amounts. The lawyer for one of those families said they decided to settle because the cost of a civil trial was too high.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
- Unique condo tower proposed for Vancouver downtown
- A unique highrise project has been proposed for the north end of the Granville Bridge that some hope will inspire a new round of architectural innovation in Vancouver. more »
- Ex-husband faces charges in Vancouver woman's death
- A 31-year-old Vancouver man is facing murder charges after his ex-wife was shot and killed Tuesday. more »
- Vancouverites say volunteering part of being good citizen
- Vancouverites seem to place more importance on volunteering as a part of being a good citizen than other Canadians, a recent Environics Institute survey suggests. more »
Top News Headlines
- Tories move to curb 'bogus' refugees
- The Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, CBC News has learned. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Two NDP MPs broke party ranks to vote with the government in the final House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Home foreclosures skyrocket in Kelowna
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Botox injected by unlicensed practitioners
- Homicide follows Vancouver family argument
- Ex-husband faces charges in Vancouver woman's death
- Tires slashed on more than 100 cars in Surrey
- Adults told B.C. teen took ecstasy the night she died
- Man killed in fight at B.C. Hedley concert
