VANCOUVER -- A second defendant has settled a wrongful conviction lawsuit with a British Columbia man who spent 27 years behind bars but was later acquitted of 10 sexual assaults.
The federal government decided Thursday that it will settle a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount with Ivan Henry, who was cleared of the crimes in 2010.
Henry's lawyer, John Laxton, told a B.C. Supreme Court judge that his client had reached a settlement with the federal government.
"They will not be making any further claims against the federal government to do with Mr. Henry's situation," federal government lawyer Mitchell Taylor said after the hearing had concluded.
He said the terms of the deal would be kept confidential and that he could not provide any details about how the deal was reached.
"Not unless there were a court order at some point in time," he said.
The agreement means the federal government has closure on the case, Taylor added, meaning it will not be making any submissions.
The government was expected to start its case Thursday.
Henry's lawyer did not return calls for comment.
Henry, 69, launched his suit against the federal government, the B.C. government and the City of Vancouver after the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled he had been wrongfully convicted in 1983.
A trial to establish whether damages were warranted began in August.
Last week, the City of Vancouver announced it had settled with Henry and withdrew its allegations that Henry was still guilty. The deal also resolved claims against the Vancouver Police Department.
A lawyer for the B.C. government has told court that Henry's case may have ended differently years ago had he chosen not to represent himself and accepted a publicly funded lawyer instead.
However, that position has been heavily criticized by those who say the province controls legal-aid funding.
Decisions by two levels of government to settle with Henry have expedited his trial, which had been expected to last 100 days.
