Merit in massacre lawsuit is no guarantee for victims
Lawyer for Toronto van attack victim says compensation is limited by gunman’s assets
A proposed class action lawsuit against the shooter in the Nova Scotia massacre may have “complete merit,” says a lawyer for a victim of the Toronto van attack — but that doesn’t guarantee fair compensation for the victims and their families.
The husband of one of the victims of Nova Scotia’s mass shooting is seeking to certify a class-action lawsuit against the shooter’s estate.
Nicholas Beaton, whose wife, Kristen Beaton, was one of the 22 people killed by Gabriel Wortman on the weekend of April 18-19, is proposing a class-action suit that would include all of Wortman’s victims, their direct family members and the victims’ estates. It would not include Wortman’s former girlfriend.
“They’re not going to get anything, that’s the sad part,” said Darcy Merkur, a lawyer who is representing Amir Kiumarsi, a victim of the Toronto van attack in 2018, in a civil suit claiming $6 million in damages. “He would have to be worth $20 million or more to give the victims some hope of a recovery.”
Robert H. Pineo, a partner at Patterson Law, filed a notice of claim Thursday on behalf of Beaton with the Supreme
Court of Nova Scotia. The respondent is listed as “Pat Doe” on behalf of the estate of Gabriel Wortman.
The proposed class action, which must be certified by a Nova Scotia court before it can proceed, seeks to have all of Wortman’s assets divided among the victims and victims’ families proportionally, based on individual submissions by class members. Wortman’s former girlfriend, who was the first person to be assaulted on the evening of April18, is excluded from the proposed class.
Given the large number of Wortman’s victims, the value of his estate is unlikely to be enough to compensate them significantly for their losses of loved ones, and their own injuries, Merkur said.
That could mean that layers in the suit insurance sources — such as Wortman’s home insurance, which could be worth about $1 million. Or, Merkur said, the lawyers could look at other entities with more assets that could be held liable — like the RCMP.
Kristen Beaton, who was pregnant at the time of her death, was on her way to work as a personal support nurse when she was pulled over by the shooter on the morning of April 19.
“I know this lawsuit won’t bring back any of those senselessly murdered; however, there must be accountability for this tragedy,” Nicholas Beaton is quoted as saying in a press release issued by his lawyer Thursday.