By Yedida Zalik, Staff Lawyer
Over the last year, many former residents of Schedule 1 Facilities made claims for compensation. This was because of a class action lawsuit about twelve Schedule 1 Facilities where many people with disabilities had been abused. That lawsuit was called Clegg v. Ontario. The Clegg lawsuit settled. This means that the parties agreed to end the lawsuit without a trial. People who lived at these twelve places were able to ask for money from the settlement.
Not all Schedule 1 Facilities were part of the Clegg lawsuit. For example, there were other lawsuits about the Huronia, Rideau and Southwestern Regional Centres, which were also Schedule 1 Facilities. Those lawsuits also settled.
Now there is a lawsuit about another one of these other facilities, the Child and Parent Resource Institute, in London, Ontario. This place used to be called the Children’s Psychiatric Research Institute, or CPRI.
You may be part of this lawsuit if you lived at CPRI between September 1, 1963 and July 1, 2011.
What is this lawsuit about?
Many people with disabilities were harmed or hurt at CPRI. The government of Ontario was in charge of CPRI. The lawsuit says the government did not protect the people who lived there.
What is happening in the lawsuit?
Lawsuits start when someone makes a claim in court. In a class action, one person or a few people start a lawsuit for a large group. The lawyers for that person need to ask the Court’s permission for the lawsuit to be a class action.
James Templin lived at CPRI and he started this lawsuit for everyone who lived there. In the court papers, this lawsuit is called Templin v. Ontario.
In December 2016, the Court said that the CPRI lawsuit can be a class action.
What happens next?
So far the CPRI lawsuit has not settled.
There could be a trial in the lawsuit. There might also be a settlement of the lawsuit.
Can I get out of the lawsuit?
If you want to get out of the lawsuit, you are allowed to do so. This is also called “opting out”. You can get out of the lawsuit by signing and sending an Opt Out Form, which is also called an Opt Out Coupon. If you opt out of the lawsuit, then you will not get any money if the lawsuit wins at trial, or if there is a settlement.
There are different reasons someone might want to opt out. If you are thinking about opting out, it would be a good idea to get legal advice before deciding.
If you would like to get legal advice before deciding if you want to Opt Out, you can contact Koskie Minsky LLP at:
Toll-free: 1-844-819-8523 or email: cpriclassaction@kmlaw.ca
You can find the Opt Out form (which is also called an Opt Out Coupon), at http://www.classactioncpri.ca/opting-out.html
If you want to opt out, you must send your letter or Opt Out Form by October 20, 2017.
Where can I get more information?
There is more information online. For that online information, go to https://kmlaw.ca/cases/cpri-class-action/
or
http://www.classactioncpri.ca/index.html
You can also call or email:
* Toll Free Phone: 1-866-640-9989
* TTY: 1-877-627-7027
* Toll Free Fax: 1-888-842-1332
* Email: CPRI@crawco.ca