CLASS ACTION
Lytton Creek Wildfire Class Action Lawsuit
The Lytton Creek Wildfire
On June 30, 2021, a fire was sparked in the Village of Lytton. It took more than two months for the fire to be deemed under control and by then approximately 90% of Lytton and many of the surrounding communities had been destroyed.
The Lytton Creek Wildfire was as devastating as it was predictable. The history of wildfires in the area and the record-breaking temperatures recorded in the days leading up to the tragedy were clear signs that the risk of disaster was real. This could have been avoided.
Slater Vecchio LLP has retained experts to investigate the cause of the wildfire and seeks to hold the Defendants accountable for their respective failures to avert the damage caused by the Lytton Creek Wildfire.
Slater Vecchio LLP filed this class-action lawsuit on October 5, 2021. On March 3, 2022, Slater Vecchio LLP was granted permission by the Supreme Court of British Columbia to be the law firm to represent those affected by the Lytton Creek Wildfire in a proposed class action.
On August 9, 2023, the Supreme Court of British Columbia granted the plaintiff leave to amend their pleadings to meet the criteria to certify the claim as a class action.
What is a Class Action?
A class action is a legal case through which one person makes a claim to the Court on behalf of a similarly situated class of people who have the same or a similar legal claim. A class action seeks to hold a defendant or defendants responsible for their conduct that affects each member of the class by resolving issues that are common to the class in the same legal proceeding, instead of each class member bringing a claim individually.
The individual who first files the claim must ask the Court for permission to proceed as a class action. If permission is granted, and the case may proceed as a class action, the Court will appoint an individual as “Representative Plaintiff” to represent the best interests of the class during the litigation and define the class group. Each person who meets the criteria of the class group is considered a “Class Member”.