Robertson v. Thomson, et al

Now that all necessary court approvals have been obtained, the claims administrator will shortly be in a position to distribute funds to claimants in this proceeding, pending the resolution of an appeal to the Court regarding the claims administrator’s disallowance of a claim. Under the judgment approving the settlement agreement, class members whose claims have been entirely disallowed are permitted to appeal their disallowance.

The Court has set a deadline for the filing of submissions by the appellant of January 21, 2011, with responding submissions on behalf of the claims administrator due by February 4, 2011. Once the outcome of the appeal has been determined, the claims administrator will be in a position to issue cheques to qualifying class members.

On December 8, 2010,the Honourable Justice Horkins issued an order approving the fees of the claims administrator and fixing the class proceedings levy.

Now that all necessary court approvals have been obtained, the claims administrator will shortly be in a position to distribute funds to claimants in this proceeding, pending any appeals of the administrator’s disallowance of claims.

Individuals who have filed a claim in this matter should now or shortly be in receipt of a letter from the Claims Adminsitrator, Duff & Phelps (formerly Cole & Partners) advising them of the outcome of their claim as filed with the claims administrator.

It is anticipated that payments to claiming Class members will proceed by the end of 2010.

The claims filing deadline in this matter expired on March 30, 2010. The Claims Administrator is in the process of reviewing claims filed by Class members. Members will be kept appraised of the progress of the claims adjudication through uptates to this website.

Class members are advised that the claims filing deadline has been extended by Order of the Court, dated January 29th, 2010. Class members now have until Tuesday, March 30, 2010 to file a claim with the Claims Administrator, Cole & Partners.

A release entitled Deadline to File Claim in Copyright Case Fast Approaching was released to all media on January 15, 2010. The release can be accessed through the “Documents” link to the right of this page.

Class members are advised that a further list of publications for which claims may be made has been provided to us by the Defendants. This list includes such publications as the Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator. The list can be accessed through the “Documents” link to the right of this page.

Class members are reminded that the deadline for filing a claim with Cole & Partners is January 18, 2010 at 5:00 p.m., Toronto time. If a member has already submitted a claim form, but has not included a claim for publications on the fourth list, they are encouraged to file a supplementary claim with the claims administrator listing these additional freelance works. Finally, class members should also consult a subject datatabase, to ensure that their claim is complete.

The opt out period in this case expired on November 2, 2009.

Class members are reminded that they have until January 18, 2010 to file a claim with the Court Appointed Claims Administrator, William Dovey of Cole & Partners. Class members are encouraged to consult the three lists, available under the “Documents” link to the right of this page, to assist them in completing their claims forms. These documents list the publications from which subject works have been reproduced in electronic databases by the Defendants.

Class members requiring assistance in completing their claim forms are encouraged to contact us for assistance.

A notice of court approval of this settlement is to be published in The Globe & Mail, The National Post, La Presse and Le Journal du Quebec on September 19 and 26, and October 2, 2009, setting out the details of the settlement. A copy of this notice is accessible under the Documents link to the right of this page.

Under the settlement, the defendants have agreed to pay the all inclusive amount of $11,000,000 to members of the Class, less $4,000,000 in legal fees, claims administration costs, notice publication costs, certain charitable contributions, and a 10% levy payable to the Law Foundation of Ontario. The compensation owing to Class members will be determined on the basis of a points system. Briefly, a member’s entitlement to compensation will be calculated on the basis of a points system, which takes into account whether or not the Class member was remunerated for their work, the length of the work, and the publication in which the work first appeared.

The judgment approving the settlement, accessible under the Documents link to the right of this page, amended the Class definition by limiting claims to those of Creators of Works published prior to May 1, 2009.

Class members who do not wish to seek compensation or take advantage of the take-down benefit may opt out of this proceeding by filing written notice of their desire to opt out to class counsel by no later than November 2, 2009.

Class members who wish to file a claim or take advantage of the take-down benefit may do so by filing a claim form with the court-appoint claims administrator, Mr. William Dovey of Cole & Partners, by no later than January 18, 2010, at the following address:

80 Richmond Street West, Suite 2000
Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2A4
Telephone: 416-361-2590
Fax: 416-364-2904

www.coleandpartners.com

A copy of the claim form is accessible under the Documents link below.

We are pleased to advise that the settlement of this matter has been approved. To view the judgment signed by the Honourable Mr. Justice Cullity, dated August 12, 2009, please consult the Documents link on this web page.

Class members will shortly be provided with Notice of Settlement Approval through various newspapers, following which class members may opt out of the proceeding. The Notice of Settlement Approval will also provide class members with further information on how to file a claim for compensation under the Settlement.

We are pleased to advise that the proposed settlement of this action has been provisionally approved by the Superior Court of Justice, subject to providing the Court with further details and submissions with respect to the administration of the claims process. A copy of the Court’s Endorsement is accessible through the link entitled “Documents” on this webpage.

On June 16, 2009, the parties to this action appeared before the Honourable Mr. Justice Cullity of the Superior Court of Justice, seeking approval of the proposed settlement. His Honour reserved his decision on the motion. We will advise members of the results of the motion when they become known.

A tentative settlement has been reached in this matter. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the Defendants will pay C$11million, inclusive of legal and settlement administration fees, to provide benefits to Class Members. The proposed settlement includes a claims-based compensation plan for class members, an alternative take-down benefit for certain freelance Works, as well as certain donations. The settlement includes a release of all claims and a license in respect of all Works not taken down. Class Members will be provided a further opportunity to opt out of the Proposed Settlement if it is approved by the Court. The parties will appear before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at the Court House located at Osgoode Hall, Courtroom 4, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario on June 16, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. to ask the Court to approve the proposed settlement. Class Members may attend the hearing and may ask to make submissions regarding the proposed settlement. Any Class Members who wish to object must provide written notice of their objection to Class Counsel by June 8, 2009.

This action was certified as a class proceeding by order of the Honourable Mr. Justice Sharp.