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INFORMATION FOR LAWYERS LOOKING FOR LEGAL EXPERTISE IN BC AND CANADA

De Beers

Case Name:

• Fairhurst v. Anglo American plc et al., SCBC Vancouver Registry No. S-071269 (the "BC Diamonds Class Action");

• Brant v. De Beers Canada Inc. et al., Ontario Superior Court of Justice, 1399/10CP (the “National Diamonds Class Action”);and

• Sanderson v. De Beers Canada Inc. et al., Superior Court of Quebec, File No. 500-06-00571-113 (Montreal Registry) (the “Montreal Diamonds Class Action”)

Together the National Diamonds Class Action, the BC Diamonds Class Action, and the Montreal Diamonds Class Action will be called the “Certified Diamonds Class Actions”.

Court:

The BC Diamonds Class Action was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia

Date Filed:

The BC Diamonds Class Action was filed February 22, 2007

Class Members:

Collectively the class has been defined for settlement purposes in the Certified Diamonds Class Actions as all persons resident in Canada who purchased Gem Grade Diamonds from January 1, 1994 to October 14, 2016 except for Excluded Persons*.

*Excluded Persons: means the De Beers Defendants**, the directors and officers of the De Beers Defendants, the subsidiaries or affiliates of the De Beers Defendants, the entities in which the De Beers Defendants or any of the De Beers Defendant's subsidiaries or affiliates have a controlling interest and the legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns of each of the foregoing and those persons who validly opt out of the BC Action or the Ontario Action.

**De Beers Defendant: De Beers Canada Inc., DB Investments, Inc, De Beers S.A., De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., De Beers UK Limited (f/k/a The Diamond Trading Company Limited), CSO Valuations A.G., and De Beers Centenary A.G.

VIEW STATUS UPDATES

A certified national settlement has been reached with the De Beers Defendants that resolves all of the Canadian certified diamonds class actions regarding Gem Grade Diamonds. The De Beers Settlement was approved as being fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the class by the Ontario Court, the BC Court, and the Quebec Court. It is a condition of the De Beers Settlement that the Saskatchewan Court dismiss or permanently stay a class action proposed in Saskatchewan regarding Gem Grade Diamonds (Daniel Ammazzini and Olson Goldsmiths Inc. v. Anglo American PLC et al., Saskatchewan Court, File No. 877, Saskatoon Registry). That application will be scheduled once the parties are advised of the availability of the Court.

Settlement Materials:

British Columbia

Ontario

Quebec

QC Reasons for Judgment re Settlement Approval Jan 30, 2018

Procedural History

The De Beers class action was commenced on behalf of residents of British Columbia who purchased a Gem Grade Diamonds (as defined in the Statement of Claim) in British Columbia from February 22, 1997 to the present. It is alleged that De Beers has engaged in a series of anti-competitive acts which have virtually eliminated competition, allowing De Beers to charge artificially inflated prices for its diamonds.

The jurisdictional issue was appealed to both the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada without success. The plaintiff’s application to certify the action was heard on April 7 – April 9, 2014. The class action was certified by Madame Justice Brown on December 2, 2014.

An updated statement of claim was filed on December 2, 2014 in the De Beers class action commenced on behalf of residents of Canada (excluding British Columbia) who purchased Gem Grade Diamonds (as defined in the Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim) between February 1, 1994 to December 31, 2011.

To access the court documents, click on the links below:

For further information concerning this action, please contact Natalie Fulton at 1-800-689-2322 or 604-689-7555, or email [email protected].

De Beers - Status Updates:

August 25, 2017

De Beers Settlement - View

December 8, 2014

De Beers – Certification Granted - View

June 21, 2013

De Beers Class Action: Jurisdictional Issue Appealed - View