A major insurance company has lost its bid to have a lawsuit tossed out that involves the alleged theft of a gold, diamond-encrusted eagle statue from an Abbotsford man in 2016.

Lloyd鈥檚 Underwriters applied to have the case dismissed, saying delays caused by the plaintiff, Ron Shore, have been 鈥渋nordinate鈥� and 鈥渋nexcusable.鈥�

Also named as defendants in the case are Endeavour Insurance Services Ltd. and Hub International.

In a ruling on Jan. 31 that was posted online Feb. 11, Justice Lisa Warren agreed with the defendants that the delays were unreasonable, but she said 鈥渋t is in the interests of justice to allow the claim to proceed.鈥�

鈥淚 have decided that there is not enough to tip the balance in favour of dismissal, although this was a close call,鈥� she wrote.

In 2009, Shore commissioned the creation of a piece called the Golden Eagle 鈥� an 18-pound, solid-gold statue with a head of 18 karat white gold encrusted with diamonds.

The eyes were made of matching pear-shaped diamonds, and the eagle stood watch over a 17.2 carat emerald.

The item was later appraised at $930,450, according to court documents.

The statue was initially crafted as the main prize for an international treasure hunt to raise money for cancer research. Several smaller silver eagles were to be interim prizes.

The Delta Police Department reported in May 2016 that after Shore had taken the Golden Eagle and one of the silver eagles to an event in Delta, he was allegedly robbed by unknown assailants as he was loading the statues 鈥� which he had been carrying in a backpack 鈥� into his vehicle.

The items have never been recovered.

Shore reported the loss to the insurance companies through which he had coverage amounting to $400,000 for the golden statute and $53,750 for the silver eagle.

The insurers denied coverage, saying the statues were being transported in a manner Shore 鈥渒new or ought to have known was in contravention of the policy.鈥�

The policy contained conditions, one of which provided that coverage is excluded unless the insured articles are in the close personal custody and control of the assured and an officer or representative of the assured at all times.

Shore argued that he had an associate with him, but the insurers said she was not there during the reported robbery.

A default judgment was entered against Lloyd鈥檚 in December 2018, but court documents indicate that Lloyd鈥檚 had been waiting for more information from the plaintiff and had not been informed that the matter was proceeding through the courts.

The default judgment was set aside in April 2019.

The most recent court decision states that since that decision, Shore has done 鈥渘othing more than serve a list of documents (June 2021) and file an amended pleading (January 2023).鈥�

Discussion arose between the two sides in spring 2023 about going to trial, but Shore鈥檚 lawyer was not available until November 2023.

The plaintiff did not raise the issue again until August 2024, according to the court ruling, after which the defendants applied to have the case dismissed.

Justice Warren said some of the delays have been due to Shore, who, because of financial constraints, tried to do some of the legal work on his own. She said he also had several health challenges.

Warren said although there were other delays for which she can find no excuse, 鈥渢here is no evidence that the defendants took issue with the pace of litigation until the summer of 2024鈥� nor have they pushed for a trial date.

She said there was no evidence indicating that the delays in the case were 鈥渋ntentional or tactical.鈥�