Laura Christine Bassett

The court approved a class action settlement between Elias Faiz and Canadian All Care Inc. (operating as Canadian All Care College) regarding the college’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.

The settlement provides $1.4 million in compensation for non-tuition losses to class members, with a minimum of $450 per month of enrollment.

The court approved the settlement, the contingency fee agreement, class counsel fees and disbursements, the appointment of Verita as claims administrator, and the notice plan, but declined to award an honorarium to the representative plaintiff, Faiz, finding no exceptional circumstances.

The decision reviews the legal principles for settlement approval, contingency fees, and honoraria in class actions.

This application sought court approval for a $30,000 accident benefit settlement for a minor, Elliot Mezzatesta, whose mother died in a motor vehicle accident.

The settlement covered past and future medical and rehabilitation benefits.

The court found the settlement to be in the minor's best interest, considering his ineligibility for weekly disability benefits and catastrophic designation, and the consumption of available limits.

Legal fees were also approved.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for settlement and fee approval in a certified class proceeding against the defendant developer regarding abortive purchases of hotel condominium units.

The court approved the $5.75 million settlement as fair and reasonable, noting it was a modest success given the litigation risks.

The court also approved class counsel's fee of $2.2 million, with $1.25 million payable immediately and a $950,000 holdback pending final distribution.

A motion by former, disqualified class counsel to approve a fee-sharing agreement with current class counsel was dismissed, as the former counsel had been disqualified, assumed no ongoing risk, and provided no services under the current retainer.

The parties in a certified class proceeding regarding purchasers of hotel units in the Trump Tower sought a consent order approving the form and content of the proposed Notice of Settlement Approval Hearing.

The court reviewed the proposed notice plan, which included direct mail, email, a dedicated website, and a Facebook page to reach geographically dispersed class members.

Finding the notice and notice plan satisfactory under section 27.1(8) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, the court granted the order.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to strike a jury notice due to court availability issues in Kingston, while the defendant brought a motion to adjourn the trial so it could be heard together with a separate action arising from a subsequent 2018 motor vehicle accident.

The court conditionally struck the jury notice, noting that criminal trials take priority and a civil jury trial was unlikely to proceed as scheduled.

The court dismissed the defendant's motion to adjourn, finding that delaying a 2012 accident claim by several more years to allow the 2018 action to catch up would cause significant prejudice to the plaintiffs.