History of the class actions
This page illustrates on a timeline a selection of the history of proceedings in the tobacco class actions, beginning with the filing of applications for authorization and extending to the recent orders in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) proceedings.
The timeline highlights how the tobacco victims’ lawyers in the CQTS-Blais and Létourneau class actions (the “Class counsel”) have vigorously defended their interests throughout the judicial process. It will show how Class counsel has repeatedly stood up to the tobacco companies in court and continues to defend the interests of the Quebec class members in the CCAA proceedings in order to ensure that their judgment claims are not diluted by the enormous monetary claims from other creditors, including primarily the Canadian provinces seeking to recover the health costs incurred in connection with tobacco-related diseases.
To keep the timeline concise, we have not included Quebec Superior Court judgments on case management issues, nor the approximately 50 Quebec Court of Appeal judgments rendered since 1998.
1998
September 10, 1998
Ms. Cécilia Létourneau files a motion for authorization to institute a class action on behalf of persons addicted to the nicotine contained in cigarettes manufactured by the three defendant tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (“RBH”) and JTI-MacDonald (the “Tobacco Companies”).
This class action is also known as the Létourneau class action.
November 19, 1998
The Conseil québécois sur le tabac et la santé (“CQTS”) and Mr. Jean-Yves Blais file a motion for authorization to institute a class action against the Tobacco Companies on behalf of smokers or ex-smokers suffering from lung cancer, throat cancer or emphysema.
This class action is also known as the CQTS-Blais class action.
2005
February 21, 2005
The Superior Court of Quebec grants authorization to institute the two class actions for addiction and tobacco-related diseases against the Tobacco Companies
The authorization judgment already provides for an initial class definition in the CQTS-Blais action, which excludes the heirs of people who died before November 20, 1998.
2012
March 12, 2012
The trial before Quebec Superior Court Judge Brian Riordan begins.
December 11, 2014
The trial ends after 253 days of hearings, the examination of 76 witnesses, over 43,000 documents admitted into evidence, and dozens of interlocutory appeals to the Quebec Court of Appeal.
2015
May 27, 2015
The Quebec Superior Court orders the Tobacco Companies to pay over $15 billion in punitive and moral damages to nearly 100,000 Quebec smokers or ex-smokers suffering from emphysema, lung cancer or throat cancer.
September to December 2015
In September 2015, before the Ontario Court, class counsel challenges settlement agreements between Imperial Tobacco, RBH and their insurer, in order to prevent the release of the tobacco class action claims against those insurance policies.
In December 2015, the Ontario Court refuses to authorize these settlements with the insurer.
October 27, 2015
The Quebec Court of Appeal orders two of the three Tobacco Companies to pay a security deposit of $984 million, pending a decision on the merits of the case.
November 2016
An exceptionally long 6-day hearing at the Quebec Court of Appeal on the merits of the case between November 21 and 30, 2016.
December 2016 to July 2017
Class counsel file proofs of claim in the winding-up proceedings of Kansa General International Insurance Company Ltd (“Kansa”), which insured Imperial Tobacco and RBH.
The claims were initially rejected by Kansa’s liquidator, forcing class counsel to challenge the rejection in court.
The case was settled, and Kansa paid a substantial lump sum to class members, though not enough to allow distribution to tobacco victims.
During this period, class counsel also reach an agreement relating to Imperial Tobacco’s insurance policies issued by Northumberland General Insurance Company (“Northumberland”), also in the process of liquidation.
2019
March 1, 2019
Five judges of the Quebec Court of Appeal render a unanimous judgment upholding the Quebec Superior Court’s verdict, condemning the tobacco companies to nearly $14 billion. The amount of the judgment was slightly reduced because of a correction to the interest calculation made by the Court of Appeal.
This judgment reaffirms that the Tobacco Companies lied, concealed the truth and systematically trivialized the dangers of tobacco for over 50 years.
As a result, the 100,000 Quebec victims of the CQTS-Blais class action who were diagnosed with lung cancer, throat cancer or emphysema will be entitled to receive compensation.
March 8, 2019
JTI-Macdonald files for protection under the CCAA before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Ontario Court”).
This results in a stay of the execution of the judgment rendered a week earlier by the unanimous decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal against JTI-Macdonald.
March 12 and 22, 2019
Imperial Tobacco and RBH file for protection under the CCAA before the Ontario Court. As a result, the execution of the unanimous decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal is stayed as well.
March 19, 2019
Thanks to the swift intervention of class counsel, the Ontario Court issues an order halting all inter-company royalty and interest payments by JTI-Macdonald to JTIM TM (a subsidiary of JTI-Macdonald).
Thanks to this order, hundreds of millions of dollars may be available to satisfy the claims of creditors, including tobacco victims.
April 4 and 5, 2019
A joint hearing is held on April 4 and 5, 2019 in respect of all three Tobacco Companies, where, for the first time, there is an opportunity for creditors to challenge the stay of proceedings under the CCAA.
As a result of this hearing, Warren K. Winkler was appointed mediator to facilitate a global settlement of all tobacco-related claims against the Tobacco Companies. Since that time, class counsel has been actively involved in the mediation process on a near-daily basis in an effort to reach a global settlement that will result in meaningful compensation for class members.
The Ontario Court grants an extension of the stay of proceedings until June 28, 2019.
At the request of class counsel, the Ontario Court partially lifts the stay of proceedings so that class counsel can ask the Quebec Superior Court to approve the two settlements with insurers in liquidation (Kansa and Northumberland).
April 23, 2019
The Ontario Court publishes its reasons for the order following the hearings of April 4 and 5, 2019, concluding that it can suspend the 60-day delay for seeking permission to appeal the
Quebec Court of Appeal decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. As a result, the Tobacco Companies’ delay to appeal the Quebec Court of Appeal decision has been suspended until the stay of proceedings is lifted or expires.
May 14, 2019
Justice Riordan of the Quebec Superior Court approves the two settlements with Kansa and Northumberland, as authorized by the Ontario Court through the partial lifting of the stay of proceedings.
The money obtained through these settlements was used to reimburse the Fonds d’aide aux actions collectives and to finance communications with Quebec tobacco victims registered with class counsel.
May 19, 2019
Following a request from class counsel, the Ontario Court ordered the Tobacco Companies to disclose to them, on a monthly basis and on a confidential basis, all professional fees incurred by them in the course of proceedings under the CCAA.
June 2019
The Tobacco Companies file materials asking for the stay of proceedings to be continued until December 19, 2019.
In response, Class counsel file materials asking that the continuation of the stay of proceedings be limited until September 27, 2019, so that the Ontario Court can monitor the progress of the mediation more closely.
The Tobacco Companies then modified and limited their request for an extension to October 4, 2019, which was granted by the Ontario Court.
October 2, 2019
Although Class counsel contest the six-month extension to the stay of proceedings requested by the tobacco companies, arguing that a shorter extension would be more appropriate, the Ontario Court renews the stay of proceedings until March 12, 2020, on the basis that the additional time requested by the Tobacco Companies is necessary to move the mediation forward.
December 9, 2019
The Ontario Court appoints The Law Practice of Wagner & Associates to represent Canadian tobacco victims not already covered by a certified class action in the CCAA proceedings.
February 20, 2020
Hearing before the Ontario Court leading to the extension of the stay of proceedings until September 30, 2020.
September 29, 2020
Hearing before the Ontario Court leading to the extension of the stay of proceedings until March 31, 2021.
March 30, 2021
Hearing before the Ontario Court leading to the extension of the stay of proceedings until September 30, 2021.
September 27, 2021
Hearing before the Ontario Court leading to the extension of the stay of proceedings until March 31, 2022.
March 22, 2022
Hearing before the Ontario Court leading to the extension of the stay of proceedings until September 30, 2022.
September 2022
The Tobacco Companies ask the Ontario Court to extend the stay of proceedings for an additional6 months.
Class counsel, supported by the Canadian Cancer Society, challenge the extension requested in order to limit the extension of the stay of proceedings for another 3 months.
While the Ontario Court notes in its judgment that that it is sensitive to the concerns of Class counsel and is concerned about the delays, it nevertheless extends the stay of proceedings until March 31, 2023 in order for the mediation to continue.
March 2023
Hearing before the Ontario Court to determine whether the Tobacco Companies will be granted another 6-month extension to the stay of proceedings, as they had requested.
Once again, Class counsel vigorously contest the Tobacco Companies’ requests. At the hearing, they point out to the Court that the process has gone on long enough, that class members are suffering, and that justice must be done. Class counsel’s position was supported by the province of Quebec, lawyers for a class action in British Columbia and the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Ontario Court renders judgment extending the stay of proceedings to September 29, 2023, on the grounds that the mediation is proceeding diligently and in good faith. It notes that, although the mediation is extremely complicated, the Court-appointed mediator advises that progress continues to be made.
September 27, 2023
The Ontario Court extends the stay of proceedings until March 29, 2024.
Although they did not contest the request made by the tobacco-companies, Class counsel presented the Ontario Court with a sworn statement explaining that some of the creditors involved in the mediation had reverted on their previous positions and were not acting appropriately. Class counsel implored the court not to allow the process to continue beyond the 5th anniversary of the start of the CCAA proceeding, and to urge the creditors to negotiate with a greater sense of urgency in order to bring the file to a resolution.
The Ontario Court heard this plea and ordered the mediator and monitors to start drafting the plans and to report to the Court on the status of same.
March 26, 2024
Following unopposed requests by the Tobacco Companies to stay proceedings for an additional 6 months, the Ontario Court extended the stay of proceedings until September 30, 2024.
Now
Since the September 27, 2023 judgment ordering the mediator and monitors to develop a plan of compromise and arrangement, mediation has intensified. Class counsel take part in daily mediation sessions in an effort to negotiate the best possible settlement.