Archives: Class Action Developments

On April 16, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the settlement agreement entered into with the Tetra Tech Defendants and set the Gatos Settlement Agreement approval motion to be heard on June 28, 2024.

On June 24, 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme Court of British Columbia’ decision to certify the within action as a national class proceedings.

If you do not wish to participate in in the class action and the settlement with the School Council please provide a completed copy of the Opt-Out Form to Class Counsel by email no later than midnight on August 23, 2024 or by mail postmarked on or before August 23, 2024 to CFM Lawyers or Tucker Carruthers.

A copy of the Opt-Out Form is located under Documents.

The lawsuit is continuing against the Yukon Government.

On June 26-28, 2023, Class Counsel appeared before the Court to seek certification of this action against the Government of Yukon.

On September 6, 2023, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ request to certify the action against the Government of Yukon.

For more information about certification, please review the Notice of Certification or contact Class Counsel.

A copy of the Certification Reasons, the Short-Form Notice of Certification, and the Long-Form Notice of Certification are located under Documents.

The plaintiff’s motion for leave under section 138.8 of the Securities Act and certification under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 was held in Ontario on April 15-19, 2024.

An application to certify the action as a class proceeding is currently scheduled for March 11 to 15, 2024. A copy of the plaintiff’s Application for Certification is available under Documents.

On January 4, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted permission to the Plaintiff to discontinue the action as against BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Goldman Sachs Canada Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., and CIBC World Markets Inc. (“Underwriter Defendants”), without costs. A copy of the order is available under Documents.

Settlements have been reached with Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America, N.A., Bank of America Canada, Bank of America, National Association, Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited, Merrill Lynch International, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., Merrill Lynch International Services Limited, Merrill Lynch Financial Assets Inc., and Merrill Lynch Benefits Ltd. and (collectively “Bank of America”) and HSBC Holdings PLC, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Bank PLC, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., HSBC Bank Canada, and HSBC USA, Inc. (collectively, “HSBC”) the “Settlement Agreements”). If the Settlement Agreements are approved by the Court and its conditions are satisfied, the settlement will settle, extinguish and bar all claims relating in any way to or arising out of the lawsuit against Bank of America and HSBC (the “Settling Defendants”).

Copy of the Settlement Agreement, Short-Form and Long Form Notice (English and French) and opt-out form can be located under Documents.

Claims Process Now Closed

The claims process is now closed. Pursuant to the distribution protocol (see under Documents), we are unable to accept new claims.

Class members who have submitted a claim will be contacted by the claims administrator, Epiq Class Action Services Canada, in due course regarding your claim.

Please check back here or the claims website [www.canadiandiamondsclassaction.ca] for further updates. // For more information, please read the below notices in Documents or refer to the claims website FAQ page.

Settlements were reached with all Defendants totalling approximately CDN $21.3 million. The Ontario and Quebec courts approved a protocol for distributing the net settlement amount. A copy of the Distribution Protocol is available under Documents along with copies of the settlement agreements.

• NEC Corporation and NEC Tokin Corporation (“NEC”) for CDN $50,000;
• Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. and Samsung SDI America, Inc. (“Samsung”) for USD $2,200,000 (converted to approximately CDN $2,778,600);
• Sony Corporation, Sony Energy Devices Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc. and Sony of Canada Ltd. (“Sony”) for CDN $4,500,000.
• LG Chem, Ltd. and LG Chem America, Inc. (“LG Chem”) for USD $3,900,000 (converted to approximately CDN $5,100,000);
• Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. and Toshiba of Canada Limited (“Toshiba”) for CDN $264,759.67;
• Maxwell Holdings, Ltd. (formerly Hitachi Maxwell Ltd.) and Maxwell Corporation of America (“Maxwell”) for USD $300,000 (converted to approximately CDN $390,000); and

Panasonic Corporation, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Panasonic Canada Inc., and Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (“Panasonic”) for USD $6,295,00.

This litigation has now been resolved in its entirety. Court approved settlements were reached with all defendants. Details regarding the settlements are set out below.

The claims process is now closed.

A copy of the publication notice can be found under Documents.

The deadline to file a claim is October 30, 2023.

This action has been certified on consent for the purposes of facilitating a settlement negotiated between the parties.  The Court will decide whether to approve the settlement at a hearing on October 25, 2023.  The settlement will not be effective unless the Court approves it. The Settlement Agreement can be found under Documents.

Under the terms of the Settlement, LifeLabs will pay a guaranteed amount of $4.9M, and up to a further $4.9M, depending upon the number of Class members who make valid claims for compensation.

The amount of compensation that each individual Class member may receive will be dependent upon the number of valid claims made.

Class Counsel’s legal fees and disbursements as approved by the Court will be deducted from the settlement fund before the balance is disbursed to Class member claimants. Class Counsel will be asking the Court to approve payment of its fees equal to 25% of the settlement fund, plus disbursements and taxes.

To learn more about the Settlement, please refer to the Long Form Notice of Settlement Hearing along with the Settlement Agreement  under Documents.

On October 25, 2023, the BC Supreme Court approved the settlement agreement with Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation and United Chemi-Con Corporation (“NCC/UCC”).

Claims Process and Deadline Settlements have been reached with all defendants in the following actions:

• Alternators
• Body Sealing Parts
• Fuel Injection Systems
• Heater Control Panels
• Occupant Safety Systems
• Plastic Interior Trims
• Radiators
• Starters
• Steering Angle Sensors, and
• Windshield Wiper Systems

(collectively “Affected Parts”) The Courts have approved a protocol for the distribution of the Affected Parts settlement funds. For more information about the settlements, the affected vehicles, and how you can apply to receive a payment, go to the Documents section to access (a) Affected Parts Long Form – Notice of Claims Process (English) and (b) Affected Parts Long Form – Notice of Claims Process (French). The deadline to file a claim is October 30, 2023. Please visit www.autopartsettlement.ca to claim your refund.

Claims Process and Deadline

Settlements have been reached with all defendants in the following actions:

• Alternators
• Body Sealing Parts
• Fuel Injection Systems
• Heater Control Panels
• Occupant Safety Systems
• Plastic Interior Trims
• Radiators
• Starters
• Steering Angle Sensors, and
• Windshield Wiper Systems

(collectively “Affected Parts”)

The Courts have approved a protocol for the distribution of the Affected Parts settlement funds.

For more information about the settlements, the affected vehicles, and how you can apply to receive a payment, click below:

Affected Parts Long Form – Notice of Claims Process (English)

Affected Parts Long Form – Notice of Claims Process (French)

The deadline to file a claim is October 30, 2023. Please visit www.autopartsettlement.ca to claim your refund.

On October 13, 2023, the BC Supreme Court approved the settlement agreements with the following parties:

• ROHM Co., Ltd. and ROHM Semiconductor U.S.A., LLC (f/k/a ROHM Electronics U.S.A., LLC) (collectively “ROHM”);
• Fujitsu Ltd. and Fujitsu Canada, Inc. (collectively “Fujitsu”);
• KEMET Corporation and KEMET Electronics Corporation (collectively “KEMET”); and

Nichicon Corporation and Nichicon (America) Corporation (collectively “Nichicon” and together with ROHM, Fujitsu and KEMET, the “Settling Defendants”).