ICBC trial to proceed despite World Cup scheduling conflict
A judge rejected ICBC's request to delay a personal injury case, ruling that adjourning would unfairly delay justice for the plaintiff after eight years.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
An ICBC personal injury trial will go ahead as scheduled on June 29, even though the date falls during the FIFA World Cup — when Metro Vancouver courts have suspended jury trials.
B.C. Supreme Court Associate Judge Scott Nielsen denied ICBC's request to postpone the case, which involves a claim by Sukhwinder Kour related to two motor vehicle accidents in March and May 2018.
ICBC lawyers had elected a jury trial in February when the trial date was set. But in July 2025, the B.C. Supreme Court announced that no civil jury trials would be held between June 12 and July 8, 2026, due to police and sheriff resource demands from the World Cup.
ICBC didn't request an adjournment until April — nine months after learning about the World Cup restrictions and three months before trial. By then, pre-trial proceedings had already begun, including an examination of Kour.
Nielsen noted that postponing would likely delay the case by more than a year. He also ruled that ICBC hadn't explained why a jury trial was necessary, suggesting the request was driven by "perceived tactical advantage" rather than principle.
For Kour, the eight-year wait has already been long. "There is a point where justice delayed is justice denied," the judge wrote.