TORONTO, Jan. 5, 2023 /CNW/ – The parties have agreed to settle class actions, launched in 2007, by retail branch employees alleging systemic unpaid overtime.

The settlement provides that CIBC will pay a total of $153 million, which will be used to compensate approximately 30,000 class members (current and former front-line retail staff) for unpaid overtime, and also used to pay for legal fees and for the cost of distributing the settlement funds. The settlement must be approved by the Ontario Superior Court before it will become binding. A motion will be brought in February 2023 for approval of the settlement, a plan to distribute the settlement funds and payment of legal fees.

The settlement was reached after 15 years of contested litigation, and months of negotiation, which followed decisions on liability by the Ontario Superior Court and Court of Appeal. The Court left the calculation of compensation and CIBC’s related defences to a further hearing, which will no longer be necessary because of the negotiated settlement.

Dara Fresco, the former CIBC Bank teller, who brought this case in 2007, stated that she is pleased with the settlement. “It is good news for the class to have this case finally resolved”, said Ms. Fresco. “I am very happy that the case is settling. This settlement is a fair compromise that will bring meaningful compensation to thousands of my fellow class members.”

Class Counsel stressed that the settlement will provide for a simple and easy method for class members to be paid. “A big advantage of this settlement is that class members will not have to prove their claims, a task that could be challenging in cases where some claims may go back nearly 30 years.” “We believe that this settlement will put more money into more class members’ hands, a lot sooner, than would happen if the case continued to be fought.”

For more information please see: www.cibcunpaidovertime.ca

For further information: Jody Brown, 416-453-9050, jbrown@goldblattpartners.com; David O’Connor, 416-350-2474, dfo@royoconnor.ca; Louis Sokolov, 416-572-7316, lsokolov@sotos.ca

In its November 23, 2022 special issue “Top 10 Business Decisions of 2021/2022” Lexpert has named Fresco v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 2022 ONCA 115 as the top “business decision” of 2021/22. In Fresco, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed CIBC’s appeals on liability, damages, and limitations.  David O’Connor and Adam Dewar were part of the counsel team that acted for the successful Plaintiff/Respondent on the appeal.

The complete article can be found at:  https://www.lexpert.ca/special-editions/litigation/lexperts-top-10-business-decisions-of-20212022/371590

In reasons for decision released on October 4, 2022 a unanimous Divisional Court overturned the dismissal of the Plaintiff’s certification motion in Mackinnon v Volkswagen Group Canada  et al and directed a further hearing to determine if the balance of the test for certification has been satisfied. The Plaintiff’s certification motion was initially dismissed in September 2021.

Roy O’Connor LLP is lead counsel in this proposed Canada-wide class action lawsuit against Volkswagen A.G. and a number of its subsidiaries regarding the alleged manipulation of emissions data in a number of 2.0L and 3.0L turbo diesel engines sold under the Volkswagen and Audi brand names.

This proposed class action seeks compensation for Canadians, largely purchasers or lessees who sold or returned their affected vehicles before the emissions issue became public, that did not receive compensation under the existing class action settlements. This action also seeks compensation  for other groups excluded from the existing settlements.

For more information about this proposed class action please click here or contact Roy O’Connor LLP at:

Email: info@royoconnor.ca
Tel: 416-362-1989

In reasons for decision released on March 1, 2022, the Ontario Divisional Court maintained the dismissal of the Plaintiffs’ certification motion in a  $40 million  proposed class action in Boal v. International Capital Management Inc. David O’Connor and Sean Grayson of Roy O’Connor LLP acted for the Defendants both on the motion below and on the appeal  that saw the certification motion dismissed against our Defendant Clients.

 The Divisional Court’s decision, as well as the decision below provide important commentary and direction on the scope of financial advisors’ duties to their clients as well as on threshold certification issues.

According to the Divisional Court:

“The goal of the imposition of fiduciary duties is to protect a relationship the law recognizes as one of high trust and confidence, based on the implicit dependency and vulnerability to another. With the recognition of the relationship comes the imposition of proscriptive duties, notably the no-profit rule and the no-conflict rules, as well as the prescriptive duties of good faith and confidence. But duties of good faith, care, confidentiality, and disclosure apply to a variety of non-fiduciaries as well. As the motion judge set out, the fiduciary standard is exceptional. Other legal concepts which may apply – protection in contract, tort, and unjust enrichment – are available to regulate the conduct alleged here, albeit not on a class, but an individual basis. While the MFDA rules and the FP Code are a part of the analysis, they are not the whole of the analysis.

For these reasons, the appeal is dismissed.”

In the latest chapter in the long-running unpaid overtime class action lawsuit against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Ontario’s Court of Appeal has affirmed that CIBC’s overtime policies contravened the Canada Labour Code and other aspects of the Bank’s overtime practices and system were institutional impediments to employees being properly compensated for all hours worked.  The Court of Appeal found that CIBC breached its duties to the class on a systemic level and was liable to the class as a whole.

David O’Connor and Adam Dewar (partners at Roy O’Connor LLP), who have been acting for the successful class members throughout the case, welcomed the decision and an opportunity now to proceed to the damages phase of the case

Dara Fresco, a former CIBC Bank teller, and class counsel brought this case in 2007.  For the past 15 years, the Bank has vigorously opposed the claims by the employee class, first by arguing that the case should not proceed as a class action and then by arguing that the case should be dismissed on the merits.

In a series of judgments in 2020, Justice Belobaba decided in favour of a class of approximately 35,000 retail bank employees, and ruled that the Bank’s overtime policies and hours-of-work recording practices were unlawful and systemic impediments to compensable claims for overtime pay.  In extensive reasons, released today, a unanimous panel of the Court of Appeal agreed with Justice Belobaba.  A further hearing is scheduled before Justice Belobaba on September 28, 2022 to determine the question of damages for unpaid hours.

“I’m gratified by the Court’s decision today,” said Ms. Fresco. “CIBC has made enormous profits off the labour of hard-working retail bank employees. Fifteen years is a very long time to wait to be paid what we are owed. My hope is that the Bank’s executives take the Court’s decision to heart and pay what it owes without further delay.”

The Class is represented by Roy O’Connor LLP, Goldblatt Partners LLP, and Sotos LLP.

Roy O’Connor LLP and Koskie Minsky LLP are acting as plaintiff’s counsel in a Canada-wide class action lawsuit action against Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Bentley relating to misstated fuel consumption figures.

In 2020 the parties reached a proposed settlement in this action. In reasons for decision released on December 23, 2020 the settlement was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The settlement was subsequently approved by the Superior Court of Quebec.

The period for making a claim for compensation under the settlement is now open.  Eligible Class Members can make a claim at the link below:

www.vwfueleconomysettlement.ca

Roy O’Connor LLP and Wagners LLP, counsel for the representative plaintiff, Erin Dawn Christiansen, announced today that a settlement has been approved by  with Mettrum Ltd. (the “Company” or “Mettrum”) in the above-noted class action. The class action related to a recall of medical marijuana products by Mettrum in late 2016 and early 2017.

In reasons for decision released on January 25, 2021 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the settlement as being in the best interests of the class members. The settlement will implemented later this year.

Under the now-approved settlement class members will automatically be  eligible to recover a portion of the purchase price paid for the products subject to the action.  Under the settlement agreement, a total of $6.95 million is payable by the Company, inclusive of all fees, expenses and taxes.  The settlement does not involve any admission or finding of liability or wrongdoing on the part of the Company.

Further details about the settlement are available at www.mettrumclassaction.ca.

Today, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued reasons for judgment in the long-running unpaid overtime class action lawsuit against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).  The Court ruled in favour of the class of approximately 31,000 current and former tellers, personal bankers and other front-line workers in retail branches across Canada, finding that CIBC  breached its overtime obligations to the Class.

The law firms of Roy O’Connor LLP, Sotos LLP and Goldblatt Partners LLP represent the Class Members in this action.

The class action lawsuit (Dara Fresco v Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) was initially launched in 2007, and was the first class action brought in Canada against the overtime policies and procedures of a major Canadian corporation.

In ruling in favour of the Plaintiff Dara Fresco and the Class Members, Justice Edward Belobaba found that, among other things:

“…CIBC was careless and indifferent, indeed negligent, about its obligation to comply with the requirements of the [Canada Labour] Code. I can also find that the bank should have known better. It is a multi-billion-dollar financial institution with an able legal staff that can easily advise on the requirements of federal labour law. For some reason this didn’t happen. The bank dropped the ball, to be sure.“

Justice Belobaba found that the Bank’s overtime policies and hours-of-work recording practices were unlawful, were system-wide in nature and impeded class member overtime claims.  His Honour also found that the Bank “must be found to have permitted (or not prevented) all uncompensated hours of the class members”.

Click here for more information about this class action.

A request has been made to the Department of Justice in the Hep-C matter to transfer surplus funds from the 86/90 settlement to the Pre-86/Post-90 settlement. Click the attached to review the request and position paper.