January 13 was the first of several filing days leading up to the month's end hearing to seek approval of the settlement reached in October between Canada's three large tobacco companies and those who are suing them.
The timetable for these filings, approved by the court in December, is displayed below (click to enlarge.)
This post will identify some of these documents as they become available on the website of the monitors. Stay tuned for updates!
January 13: Fee approvals
The settlement requires the fees charged by lawyers representing Quebec class action, the Knight class action and tobacco farmers to be approved by the court. Contingency fees charged by lawyers for eight provincial governments and three territories do not require court approval, nor do counsel for injured smokers who are not part of the Quebec class action (the Pan-Canadian claimants).
Quebec Class Action *
The Quebec class action counsel motion filed on January 13 requests approval of payment of 22% of the settlement amount, which works out to $901 million of their $4.1 billion share of the settlement. The percentage was set in an agreement signed with the Conseil Québécois pour le Tabac et la Santé (CQTS) in 1998 and amended in 2017.
The lengthy (300+ pages!) material filed in support of this request is compelling reading. This set of personal narratives details the personal, legal and financial history of this historic trial and how several lawfirms joined forces to sustain the claim over decades. To date more than 100 person years of plaintiff lawyers' effort (203,849 hours) have been logged. (The major firms involved are Trudel, Johnston, Lespérance; De Grandpré Chait; Kugler Kandestin; and Fishman Flanz Meland Paquin.
Tobacco Producers
The farmers' share of the settlement is $15 million, and counsel is requesting a payment of $3.1 million. Their original retainer agreement was for 25% of the award. In support of this request, the document provides a background on the lawsuit and the companies' contracts with farmers. These Ontario farmers are represented by Strosberg Wingfield Sasso.
Knight Class action
Imperial Tobacco was the only company implicated in the B.C. "Knight" class action lawsuit focused on the sale of light cigarettes. The settlement provides for a $15 million dollar payment in this case which, apart from legal fees, will be allocated to the research foundation established as part of the settlement.
The retainer fee negotiated at the outset of this case was 30%, and the lawyers are asking for approval of $5 million plus $1 million in disbursements plus interest and sales taxes. Almost $3 million in billing hours is identified since the lawfirm, Klein Lawyers, filed the action in 1998.
This document provides background on the evolution and context of the lawsuit. Included is matrial that would otherwise never see the light of day, such as the expert reports on health impact prepared by David Hammond and David Burns and also a review of the financial benefits to Imperial Tobacco of light cigarette sales.
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*Disclosure: The staff of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada were among those who worked on a contingency basis for the counsel to the Quebec class action.
