A recent ruling by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge has given the green light for a class-action lawsuit against Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways to proceed following a devastating fire that ravaged the community of Lytton, B.C. in June 2021.
Justice Ward Branch’s decision, announced on Tuesday, acknowledges that there is credible evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ claims that the destructive fire may have been sparked by railway operations. Both CN and CP have parallel tracks running through Lytton, where the tragic incident occurred.
Numerous lawsuits were initiated in the aftermath of the fire, including legal actions by individuals and First Nations groups. Notably, a separate class-action lawsuit was rejected for certification in 2023.
The lead plaintiff in the approved class-action is Carel Moiseiwitsch, whose residence in Lytton was consumed by the fire, along with the assets of her and her spouse’s home-based information technology and design business.
Additional plaintiffs include individuals like Jordan Spinks, a member of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, who was displaced by the fire for an extended period and cites job loss and mental health challenges as repercussions of the disaster.
The class-action lawsuit is intended for those who suffered losses in the fire, with specific subclasses catering to family members of fire victims and individuals who lost uninsured property in the blaze.
Tragically, two lives were lost in the catastrophic fire, which occurred during a severe heatwave setting a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 Celsius in Lytton the day before the town was engulfed in flames.