Here Are 4 Canadian Class-Action Lawsuits That Might Send a Payout Your Way

The TD bank logo is seen on the outside of an office tower in downtown Vancouver on Jan. 19, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Class action lawsuits are an increasingly common way for people to fight for compensation when they believe they’ve been wronged by a company.

While class actions didn’t become common until the 1990s, there are now upwards of 100 class action lawsuits initiated each year in Canada.

Here are four of the biggest class actions occurring this year that Canadians could receive payouts for. 

TD Bank

If you’re a TD Bank customer, you could be eligible to receive a payout.

A tentative settlement of $15.9 million has been reached between TD Bank and Koskie Minsky LLP, the Toronto law firm appointed as counsel.

A hearing will be held Feb. 13 during which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will decide whether to approve the proposed settlement. The court certified the class action on Dec. 7, 2022.

TD is alleged to have charged multiple NSF fees on a single cheque issued or payment made, according to a statement from Koskie Minsky.

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TD has denied liability and will not have to admit wrongdoing under the settlement.

“Once the settlement is approved by the court, the settlement we negotiated provides that class members will receive their pro rata share of the settlement funds directly deposited into their TD bank account without having to file any additional paperwork or jump through any additional hoops,” Koskie Minsky partner Adam Tanel said in a statement. “It took a lot of work, on both sides, to get this deal done.”

TD customers who do not want to be legally bound by the settlement must opt out of the class action by submitting this form before Jan. 27.

Meta

Meta is offering eligible Canadians in four provinces compensation for using Facebook users’ images to advertise products in its now-defunct sponsored stories feature.

The company, which owns the social media platform, is shelling out $51 million as part of a class action lawsuit settlement brought forward on behalf of residents of B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The settlement has yet to be approved by the court. A hearing is scheduled for March 13.

The class action was a result of the 2017 lawsuit filed by a B.C. woman who accused Facebook of utilizing users’ images—including her own—without permission.

To be eligible to join the class action, you must have been a registered Facebook user and lived in one of the four provinces at any time between Jan. 1, 2011 and May 30, 2014. The Facebook account must have used your real name and had a profile picture that included an identifiable self-image used by the social media giant in a sponsored story.

Those wishing to object to the settlement agreement have until March 11 to send in an objection form.

Apple

Canadian iPhone owners could be eligible for a payout from Apple courtesy of a class-action lawsuit about the tech company’s software updates causing battery defects and impacting device usability.

The class action, which became known as “batterygate,” was launched in 2018 against both Apple Inc. and Apple Canada.

If you owned or purchased an Apple iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7, or 7 Plus smartphone device with iOS 10.2.1 or later for iPhone 6 models or iOS 11.2 or later for iPhone 7 or 7 Plus before Dec. 21, 2017, you could be eligible for payment.

Apple has agreed to pay between $11,137,500 and $14,427,500 to impacted iPhone users as part of a tentative agreement but has said it is not an “admission of liability.”

The settlement must be approved by the BC Supreme Court before any payments are made. A hearing has been set for Jan. 29.

If the court approves the settlement, Apple has said it will provide a cash payment to each class action member who has submitted an approved claim.

The last day to opt out of the settlement was Jan. 10.

Roundup

A billion-dollar class action lawsuit in Ontario Superior Court has been certified against Monsanto Canada over claims that its leading herbicide, Roundup, causes cancer.

While a settlement agreement may be a long way off, it could pay to wait.

Similar claims in the U.S. saw the manufacturer in 2020 agree to pay nearly US$10 billion in settlements. More than 80 percent of the Roundup lawsuits south of the border—in excess of 100,00 cases—have been settled, according to TorHoerman Law, the firm representing the plaintiffs. The agreement also included $1.25 billion for future claims.

In Canada, the class action alleges Roundup products cause non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The same firm in the TD case, Koskie Minsky LLP, is involved in this case as well. The Toronto-based practice is representing the plaintiffs with cancer survivor Jeffrey DeBlock acting as the face of the case.

In certifying the lawsuit as a class action, Judge A.D. Grace said in his reasoning that a class proceeding would provide “easier access to justice” adding that “it is bound to be more economical than the pursuit of multiple individual claims.”

To qualify as a member of the class action you or a family member must have suffered injury from exposure to Roundup.