Court awards Tofino surfer $70K in damages for 2018 attack
CTV
A B.C. judge has awarded a former Tofino resident more than $70,000 in damages after he brought a civil lawsuit against a man who attacked his car with a 2x4 in 2018.
In a decision handed down late last month, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray ordered Ole Marvin Hansen to pay the damages to Clayton Giesbrecht, writing that Hansen's conduct was "so egregious that it must be punished."
The conduct in question occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 22, 2018, according to Murray's decision.
Between 4:30 and 5 a.m., Giesbrecht was in his vehicle in the parking lot of Castaways store to check the internet. He told the court he had an agreement with the business that allowed him to use its internet in exchange for helping out at the store.
When he finished, he backed across the parking lot to a spot right beside Hansen's home.
"He tried to go forward but his car would not move," Murray wrote in her decision.
"Being a cold morning, Mr. Giesbrecht thought his car would not move because the engine was cold. He sat in that spot revving his engine in an effort to warm it up."
The revving of the engine woke up and angered Hansen, who got out of bed, dressed and went outside, according to the decision.
"On his way out the door, he grabbed a piece of wood similar to a 2x4," the judge wrote. "Wielding the piece of wood like a baseball bat, Mr. Hansen repeatedly struck Mr. Giesbrecht’s car, shattering the front and rear windshields and denting the window frames. Mr. Hansen then struck the driver’s side window, breaking it and hitting Mr. Giesbrecht’s arm, causing injury."
