The BC Court of Appeal has upheld a BC Supreme Court ruling from 2016, that the province does not have to pay the full $8-million compensation award to a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years.
B.C.’s highest court said the money paid out to Ivan Henry as part of settlements with the City of Vancouver and the federal government should be deducted from the multi-million-dollar award against the province.
WATCH: How weaknesses in the system led to the imprisonment of an innocent man
The court added that otherwise, it would be considered “double recovery,” which is not allowed.
Ivan Henry, 69, sued the province after he was acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual-assault convictions. The federal government and the City of Vancouver settled with Henry in 2015 for undisclosed amounts.
But the BC Court of Appeal felt that the settlements with the city and the federal government for breach of charter should be deducted against the award against the province.
WATCH: How much is a mistaken 27-year prison term worth?
The decision comes one-and-a-half months after a group of women launched a lawsuit against Henry, who claimed he sexually assaulted them in 1981 and 1982.
None of those sexual assault allegations have been proven in court.
~With files from Amy Judd
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