The amendment in question (pasted below) would end the inter-company wrangling over dividing the check. With it, there is now full agreement among all the parties involved - tobacco companies and their creditors. It is hard at this point to see any reason why the plan will not soon be put into force.
Rothmans, Benson and Hedges had earlier maintained it was getting a raw deal because it put more money into the initial kitty and because the Quebec court had ruled that Imperial Tobacco's behaviour was worse and therefore it was responsible for a greater portion of the damages. In the end, Imperial Tobacco agreed that it would relinquish any claim it might have on the $750 million from that kitty that was being returned to the companies in the form of "working capital." With that concession, RBH withdrew all of its objections to the plan.
Japan Tobacco's affiliates (both the cigarette manufacturing branch and the trademark-owning branch) also withdrew their objections today, although there was nothing presented that would explain their change of heart. They may simply have known when to fold them: their objection was based on a desire to maintain dubious inter-corporate financial arrangements that had already been the subject of court criticism.
The longest part of today's session was the courtroom whipping of Heart and Stroke for its temerity in filing an objection to the amendment. Ontario's lawyer played the heavy - going on at some length about the limited role that social stakeholders should have in such a process, and accusing the agency of "abuse of process" and "egregious conduct that needs to be reined in by the court."
Some ganging-up is to be expected. Everyone seems anxious to get this to the finish line, and Heart and Stroke was alone in voicing any concerns about putting this last brick in the wall. (The Canadian Cancer Society is also on record that "plans should not be sanctioned in their current form", but did not intervene on this morning's request for amendment.)
Chief Justice Morawetz directed a courtroom-style tongue-lashing at Heart and Stroke's lawyer, asking him to identify how they would be affected by the request (he couldn't) and then pushing him to explain why the foundation should not be assigned costs for the time of the (many dozen!) lawyers whose time was impacted by the objection.
The hearing ended with the judge agreeing to the request for amendment and clarifying that the litigation stay which has suspended all lawsuits against these companies for almost 6 years would be sustained until he issued his decision on the settlement. One (last?) hearing is scheduled for this Friday, March 7th, when the court will review the amicus curiae brief regarding legal fees.
-------------------------------
The amendment agreed to today:
Documents filed in connection with this request:
- Imperial Tobacco: Affidavit of Eric Thauvette. February 27, 2025
- Imperial Tobacco Motion Record Returnable March 3rd
- Imperial Tobacco. Monitor's 28th Report Japan Tobacco: Affidavit of William Aziz. February 27, 2025
- Japan Tobacco. Third Amended and Restated Plan.
- Japan Tobacco. Motion Record Returnable March 3rd, 2025
- Japan Tobacco. 25th report of the Monitor. Rothmans, Benson and Hedges. Affidavit of Milena Trentadue
- Rothmans, Benson and Hedges. Motion Record Returnable March 3 (part 1) (part 2)
- Rothmans, Benson and Hedges. 26th Monitor's Report (part 1) (Part 2)Joint Factum of the Monitors
- Objections by Heart and Stroke Foundation
