UPDATE April 2012
We are pleased to announce that the settlement of this Class Action has been approved by the Court. Please click here to review the Court’s Order approving the settlement and click here to review the Court’s Order approving the fees of Class Counsel.
The firm of NPT RicePoint has been retained to administer the settlement and will be contacting class members who have not opted out about the amount of their entitlement and their options for payment. If you are a member of this class who has not opted out, and you want to ensure we have your accurate contact information, please e-mail the information to Amy Quinn (aquinn at sgmlaw dot com).
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UPDATE February 2012
We are pleased to report that, as a result of a second pre-trial which took place on January 9 and 10, 2012, the parties have entered into a settlement of this class action, but it is still conditional upon approval of the Court. Please click here to review the Minutes of the Settlement with the Defendants.
The hearing to approve the settlement and the fees of Class counsel will take place before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at the Court House located at 161 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario on March 7, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. A Notice providing further details about the settlement and the hearing will be sent by mail to all Members of the Class who have not opted out. Please click here to review the English version of the Notice and here to review of the French version of the Notice. Please click here to review the Order of the Court, approving the Notice and the Notice Program.
As class counsel, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Bob Givogue, Dave Lacelle and Grahame Leech for their many years of hard work and dedication to the class in pursuing this legal claim, which was started in 2001.
If you are a member of this class, who has not opted out, and you want to ensure we have your accurate contact information, please e-mail the information to Amy Quinn (aquinn @sgmlaw.com) If necessary, you may contact Ms. Quinn at 613-482-2454. If you have questions about the information contained in the Notice, you may call 1-888-746-6881 and ask for Fiona Campbell.
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A class action lawsuit is being pursued in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of those members of the Pension Plan for the Union Employees of Voyageur Colonial Limited who received reduced pensions because they were less than age 55 at the time of the partial or final terminations of the Plan in 1995 and 1997.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the shortfall in the pensions, plus interest and costs.
The lawsuit was certified as a class proceeding in September 2003. The representative plaintiffs are Robert Givogue and David Lacelle for the Plan members who were part of the final Plan termination, and Grahame Leech for the Plan members who were part of the partial Plan termination.
A Related Insurance Action was started by one of the Defendants, Manion Wilkins, because their insurer, Lloyds of London, have cancelled the policy and denied coverage.
The facts of the case, as alleged by the Plaintiffs, were put before the Ontario Superior Court in a motion filed in 2010. Parts A through F of the Plaintiffs’ Motion Record, which set out the facts relied on by the Plaintiffs, are attached below.
Many of the steps in the class action litigation process have been completed. The parties have exchanged affidavits of documents, expert actuarial reports and examinations for discovery took place in 2004, 2005 and 2009. A motion was heard by the Court in 2010 dealing with disclosure and other issues. In April 2011, the Class Proceedings Fund granted funding to the Representative Plaintiffs.
In July 2011, the pre-trial for the class action and the related insurance action took place together before Mr. Justice Charbonneau of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. At the pre-trial, Mr. Justice Charbonneau expressed his opinions to all the parties, legal counsel and insurance company representatives about the likely outcome of the two actions and gave suggestions for possible settlement. (The representative plaintiffs and Sack Goldblatt Mitchell were strictly prohibited from providing any details to the members of the class about the discussions, statements or opinions as expressed at the pre-trial proceedings.) A 6-week trial of the class action and related insurance action was set for November 12, 2012.
For more information about class actions, click here.
Click on the links below to read the pleadings and court documents related to this class action.
Pleadings
Court Decisions
September 2010 Motion - Compendium of Facts, Parts A - F (PDF documents)
Facts Part A: Trustees’ Power to Approve Unreduced Early Retirement Benefits: History of Voyageur Plan Terms and Amendments 1978 to 1997
Facts Part B: Retirement Age Assumption and Increased Benefits while Foster Higgins was Actuary for the Plan
Facts Part C: Change in Actuaries from Foster Higgins to Manion Wilkins 1991 to 1993
Facts Part D: Actuarial Services from Manion Wilkins 1993 to 1997
Facts Part E: Shortfall
Facts Part F: OSFI Audit and PWC Report 1998 to 1999
