Sara Nagalingam

This decision concerns the approval of a class action settlement and associated legal fees and honoraria following an aircraft accident.

The class action arose from a November 9, 2018 incident where Fly Jamaica Flight OJ 256 made an emergency landing, resulting in substantial damage and passenger injuries.

After extensive negotiations, a $5,550,000.00 lump sum settlement was reached.

The court approved the settlement agreement, certified the action against newly added defendants for settlement purposes, approved class counsel's fees of 25% of the settlement amount plus disbursements, and approved a $5,000 honorarium for each representative plaintiff.

The court found the settlement to be within the range of reasonableness and the fees to be fair and reasonable.

This endorsement from a case conference addressed procedural issues concerning examinations for discovery scheduled for a three-week period.

Key issues included confirming the discovery schedule for defendants, determining the order of examination between co-plaintiffs, and allocating discovery costs.

The court set the discovery schedule, ordered one plaintiff's counsel to examine witnesses first due to preparedness, and denied a request for an advance list of questions.

Costs were apportioned 3/4 to one plaintiff's clients and 1/4 to the self-represented plaintiff.

The plaintiff brought a motion for leave to amend the statement of claim to add a claim for punitive damages against a defendant who rear-ended the plaintiff's vehicle while impaired.

The defendant opposed the amendment, arguing she had already paid her debt to society through a criminal conviction and fine.

The court granted the motion, noting that a prior criminal penalty is a factor to consider but not an absolute bar to punitive damages, and found no non-compensable prejudice to the defendant.