Man declared dead is likely still alive, Quebec court reaffirms in appeal case

Quebec’s Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that overturned a missing man’s declaration of death more than five years after he was pronounced deceased.

Court documents say Hooshang Imanpoorsaid went missing in 2008 and was declared dead by a Quebec judge in 2017.

The documents suggest that his death freed up a $500,000 insurance policy for his wife and children.

But a police investigation revealed he had allegedly flown to Amsterdam, and the family discovered he owed large sums of money to several lenders.

A Quebec court overturned his death declaration in 2021 after insurance company Ivari presented documents it said proved he was alive and living in Iran.

Imanpoorsaid’s wife, Deborah Carol Riddle, cast doubt on the validity of those documents and appealed the lower court decision.

But a panel of three Court of Appeal judges rejected her arguments in a decision rendered last week, writing that the evidence demonstrates that Imanpoorsaid is almost certainly alive.

– This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2023.