 Important Updates

 

 

Settlement Approval

A Settlement has been reached between the parties in the GCC lawsuit.

 

On November 20, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the Settlement Agreement and Class Counsel’s fees.

 

The Notice of Settlement Approval was published on January 26, 2024 to advise Class Members about how to file a claim. Please visit the Documents page of this website to view the Notice of Settlement Approval.

 

Deadline to Submit a Claim

All Eligible Class Members can submit a claim for payment.   If you want to submit a claim for payment, please complete the Claim Form, including all required supporting documentation and submit to the Claims Administrator by October 22, 2024.  The Claim Form can be found here.

 

The deadline to submit a claim is October 22, 2024.

 

Updates will be available on this website, so we invite you to visit this website periodically.

Grenville Christian College (GCC) Settlement

If you attended and boarded at GCC between September 1973 and July 1997 (and you are NOT a child or grandchild of Charles Farnsworth and/or Alastair Haig and you have NOT previously validly opted-out) you are a Class Member and may be eligible for a payment under this Settlement.

 

If you are a Class Member, you may make a Claim for payment under the Settlement.

 

The deadline to make a claim is OCTOBER 22, 2024.

 

What is this Class Action about?

 

The Settlement reached between the parties in the GCC lawsuit was approved by the Court, and the all-inclusive amount of $10,875,000 CAD has been paid by the Defendants’ Insurers to settle the class action in return for releases and a dismissal of the lawsuit.  On November 20, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the Settlement as fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Class.  The Court also approved the Class Counsel fees and Class Proceedings Fund levy.

 

The class action lawsuit was commenced in 2008 by and on behalf of former boarding students of GCC, (who boarded/attended between September 1973 and July 1997). It took many years before the lawsuit was determined to be allowed to proceed by way of class action (“certified”), and many more years to make its way through a common issues trial and appeal therefrom.

 

The lawsuit alleged (and the Ontario Superior Court in 2020, and the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2021 have since affirmed) that GCC utilized practices and policies which amounted to child abuse: they created an environment of control, intimidation, and humiliation that fostered and inflicted enduring harms on its students.

 

Rather than proceed with the next stage of the class action: the individual class member claims stage, the parties were able to reach an agreement to settle the individual class member damages.

 

The Settlement is intended to provide closure and support for healing for Class Members. The financial compensation under the Settlement is meant to serve a symbolic function in acknowledging the harms endured by the Class Members. Key elements of the Settlement are that Class Members will not be subjected to an adversarial adjudicative process and the claims program is confidential and document-based. This is only a summary.

 

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available here.

 

What Types of Settlement Benefits are Available?

 

There are two categories of compensation available to Class Members.  Group A Compensation (Common Experience Payments) and Group B Compensation (Psychological and/or Physical Harm and/or Sexual Abuse). Class Members can apply for compensation under both categories.

 

Payment in any one of these categories is not guaranteed.  Total payments (Group A and B combined) will not exceed $74,000.

 

1) Group A – Common Experience Claim

All Class Members share a Common Experience in having attended and boarded at GCC during the Class Period (September 1973 and July 1997) and having been subjected to controlling, demeaning, intimidating, and humiliating acts, as well as excessive physical and/or psychological punishment.

 

Payments to Eligible Class Members under this category (“CEP”) will be determined based upon the amount of time they attended and boarded at GCC during the Class Period.

 

Less than 1 School Year1   $ 1,500 CAD

1 School Year                     $ 3,000 CAD

1-2 School Years                $ 6,000 CAD

2-4 School Years                $ 12,000 CAD

4+ School Years                 $ 24,000 CAD

1A school year is 10 months, between September and June.

 

Claims for compensation in this category require proof/confirmation of class membership, along with the completion, execution and submission of a Claim Form by the claims deadline.  While the Claims Administrator will be provided with a Class Member List to establish class membership and eligibility under this category, additional document may be required and requested by the Claims Administrator, before any determination of eligibility or payment can be made.

 

2) Group B – Severe Psychological and/or Physical Harm and/or Sexual Abuse

 

Class Members may seek additional compensation to the CEP, if they can provide objective evidence of severe psychological injury (i.e. mental-health illness/disorder diagnosis and treatment), or physical injury (i.e. surgery and/or ongoing physiotherapy) linked to their experiences at GCC. To qualify for additional compensation related to severe psychological injury or physical injury, claimants must provide a sworn/solemnly affirmed Impact Statement and medical records, in addition to the completion and execution of the Claim Form.

 

Class Members subjected to incidences of sexual abuse may also submit claims for additional compensation. To qualify for additional compensation related to sexual abuse, claimants must provide a sworn/solemnly affirmed Impact Statement setting out the nature of the incident(s) alleged to have been experienced by the claimant while at GCC during the Class Period (being September 1973 to July 1997), along with the details relating to the time period, specific date(s) of the incident(s), location, individuals involved, witnesses, if any, and reports made, if any (and to whom those reports where made).

 

Payments under this category will be determined based on a Points System, with Points being allocated based on supporting documentation evidencing a Compensable Psychological or Physical harm (i.e. medical records and impact statement) or, in the case of sexual abuse, based on an impact statement, all in addition to a Claim Form.

 

Group B payments are capped at $50,000.

 

Summary of Your Legal Rights and Options

 

Do Nothing

 

If you do nothing, you will not be eligible to receive a settlement payment.

 

SUBMIT A CLAIM

 

All Class Members who did not validly opt-out before December 28, 2014, can submit a claim for payment.

 

If you want to submit a claim for payment, please complete the Claim Form, including all required supporting documentation, and submit to the Claims Administrator.

 

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT A CLAIM IS OCTOBER 22, 2024.

 

HOW TO SUBMIT A CLAIM

 

Mail or courier your completed Claim Form and any supporting documentation to the Claims Administrator at:

 

Grenville Christian College (GCC) Settlement

c/o Epiq Class Action Services Canada Inc.

P.O. Box 507 STN B

Ottawa, ON K1P 5P6

 

Mailed claim submissions must be postmarked by no later than OCTOBER 22, 2024.

 

OR

 

Email your complete Claim Form and any supporting documentation to: info@GCCSettlement.ca.

 

 

We recommend you take a few minutes to view the FAQ section for further details about this class action and Settlement benefits.