B.C. judge allows eagle sculpture insurance case despite 'inexcusable' delays

Judge allows sculpture case

Photo: The Canadian Press

Delta Police Sgt. Brad Cooper holds a photograph of an 8 kilogram solid-gold, diamond-encrusted statue of an eagle that was stolen from Ron Shore during a robbery on Sunday, during a news conference in Delta, B.C., on Monday May 30, 2016.  

A B.C. Supreme Court judge says a lawsuit against insurance companies over the alleged theft of eagle sculptures made of gold and silver can proceed despite years of "inordinate and inexcusable" delays.

The ruling posted Tuesday says Forgotten Treasures International's lawsuit against Lloyd’s Underwriters, HUB International and others can proceed, even though it's been more than six years since the suit was filed.

The case was originally filed in 2018, nearly two years after the alleged theft of the gem-encrusted sculptures.

Forgotten Treasures owner Ron Shore says he was violently robbed of the sculptures that were among prizes for a treasure hunt held by the company to raise money for cancer research.

The ruling says the gold version is valued at more than $1 million and the silver piece around $50,000.

It says Shore insured the sculptures with Lloyd's and Endeavour Insurance Services, through a policy brokered by HUB, and years of legal wrangling ensued.

Forgotten Treasures at one point won a default judgment against Lloyd's.

The judge's new ruling says Shore "wasted two years" trying to preserve the default judgment and avoid having to take the case to court on its merits.

But even with the delays, the judge found it was in the "interests of justice to allow the claim to proceed."