VANCOUVER — ICBC has been ordered to pay $15,000 each to 79 people — 13 of whom had their homes targeted with arsons and shootings after the privacy breach — as part of a class action judgment involving a former employee who improperly accessed and sold their personal information to third parties.
According to court documents published online Tuesday, the homes and vehicles of 13 people were targeted between April 2011 and January 2012. They were among 79 ICBC customers whose licence plates and related personal information were pulled from corporation databases by adjuster Candy Elaine Rheaume.
The class action stems from the June 2012 privacy breaches and has been the subject of four judgments by the B.C. Court of Appeal since — one of which pointed to a history of similar breaches by ICBC employees. Although dozens of the clients weren’t targeted, “I find that risk existed for all class members, whether they were individually aware of it or not,” said Smith. “Many class members have no way of knowing whether their information was disclosed to anyone, to whom it was disclosed or the specific risk that may have created.”
Smith noted anyone who wants to own or drive a vehicle must provide detailed personal information to ICBC, and that many people in the organization have access, so the need for protecting that information is vital.