Notice of Partial Certification Approval in BC Compressors Class Action

Motion to approve the ACC Settlement Agreement is to be heard December 7, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. All documentation can be viewed on the BC Compressors class action page.

Samji Ponzi Scheme Amended Notice of Civil Claim filed June 5, 2012

We are co-counsel in a class action brought on behalf of the victims of the “Mark Anthony Investment” scheme promoted by a notary public, Rashida Samji. The class action alleges that the “Mark Anthony Investment” was a Ponzi scheme and seeks to recover the funds lost by the victims of this alleged fraud.

The proposed class members include those investors who provided funds through the defendant Arvindbhai Patel (aka Arvin Patel), a former financial planner and mutual fund salesman who was employed by the defendant Coast Capital Savings Union during the relevant period. Other proposed class members include those who invested with Ms. Samji directly, or through other means.

First Nations Wild Salmon May 3, 2012 – Class certification appealed to BCCA

The Defendants appealed the certification decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The Appeal was heard November 23-25, 2011 and allowed on May 3, 2012. A copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the BC Court of Appeal may be viewed by clicking the following link:

• First Nations Wild Salmon, Reasons for Judgment of Garson J. 2012 BCCA 193

Michelle Segal joins CFM

CFM welcomes our newest Associate, Michelle Segal.  Michelle joined us on June 11, 2012 after completing her articles with a large national firm. Michelle has a background in International Development Studies and Economics and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. While at U of T she worked as a research assistant on academic projects related to Law and Economics and was a member of the Senior Editorial Board of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review, supervising the International Law Group.

Joe Fiorante appointed Queen’s Counsel

The firm is pleased to congratulate Joe Fiorante on his appointment to Queen’s Counsel. With a talent for identifying and elucidating the perfect storm of variables that precede aviation disasters, Joe is respected both nationally and internationally for his skilled counsel in complex aviation cases.  He is also well known for his counsel work on the product liability side of the ledger. Both practice areas tend to involve cross-border issues and Joe is regularly sought after for his understanding of international law and procedure.  Joe is also a regular contributor to the SMU Air Law Symposium and the Pacific Northwest aviation law and insurance seminar. A humanitarian at heart, Joe volunteers for the Compassion Fruit Society and he is the current Board Chair of Project Somos Children’s Village, a project focused on building an ecologically and financially sustainable model village in Tecpan, Guatemala to house and nurture abandoned and orphaned children. The group is hoping to create a template that can be used to develop other sustainable villages throughout Guatemala. You need only visit the Somos website and check out those ear to ear grins to see the hope this project has inspired.

Visa / Mastercard

The Notice of Civil Claim was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on March 28, 2011.

Visa / Mastercard Filed Notice of Civil Claim

Air France Flight 358 – Update January 25, 2011

Class counsel has achieved settlement with all defendants in this matter. The settlement agreements and the court’s judgments regarding each settlement can be viewed below. The global settlement total was for $20,750,000. In addition, Class Counsel have recovered approximately $50,000 in costs as a result of success on various motions plus a modest amount of accrued interest of approximately $50,000, all of which will be added to the settlement fund.

Class counsel is now assisting the claims administrator to expeditiously process each individual claim. Processing of payments to Class Members will begin once all Class Members have signed and submitted the required release forms and all reviews of class member claims are complete. It is not known at this stage exactly how long the reviews will take, but Class Counsel are striving to have the settlement funds issued to class members by no later than mid-April 2011.

Legal Fees and Disbursements: The Court also approved class counsel fees in the amount of $6,225,000, plus applicable General Services Tax (GST) of $311,250 and additional case expenses in the amount of $165,174.99. The Court also approved payment of $18,403.76 in overlooked GST from previously approved class counsel disbursements and $22,275 for payment of deferred expert fees. Class counsel are entitled to be paid disbursements forthwith, but class counsel have undertaken not to be paid class counsel fees until the class members have been paid from the settlement fund. In addition, the Court approved a hold back of $25,000 to cover any additional expenses incurred up to February 28, 2011 for the completion of the case. Any expenses recovered out of this hold back are subject to prior court approval. Any funds remaining in this hold back at the conclusion of the case will be added to the settlement fund for distribution to class members.