Court rejects 2019 Westboro bus crash class-action lawsuit

The Ontario Superior Court has rejected a proposed class-action lawsuit in the January 2019 Westboro Station bus crash.

The city confirmed the news in a memo sent out council members from City Solicitor David White Thursday, saying that the lawsuit was “not suitable for a class action.”

The bus crash happened on January 11, 2019. The double decker bus left the roadway and collided with the bus station. It claimed the lives of three people and injured 23.

This lawsuit was just one of 22 formal statements of claim that have since been issued in relation to the event.

According to the court document, the plaintiff in this class action, Marcel Pinon, was a passenger on the bus at the time of the crash. Minon was suing on behalf of himself, others who were injured and/or traumatized and family members with derivative claims.

“This action was started on January 17, 2019 in the immediate aftermath of the accident. The plaintiff alleges he was so traumatized by the events of the accident and its immediate aftermath that he was ultimately forced to take early retirement,” the court document outlined. 

“The Court took note of the fact that, in its handling of individual court actions, the City has admitted liability for the losses arising out of the motor vehicle collision,” White wrote in Thursday's statement. “As a result of the City’s considered approach to the other claims, and noting the class action plaintiff’s desire to advance broad allegations of systemic negligence, the Court determined that there were, in effect, no advantages to having the lawsuit proceed as a class action.”

The city admitted liability earlier this month when its insurers and the city itself accepted civil responsibility for the crash.

White said in a memo earlier this month that making the formal admission official set aside any deliberation regarding the legal responsibility for compensation. Simply put, it means reducing the burden of additional legal proceedings on the victims of the incident.

“The amount of each claim still needs to be verified and quantified as part of the litigation process,”White said on January 7. “This work is ongoing and will continue into the new year, when it is anticipated that some of the individual claims will be settled.”

The court also noted that in this regard, that “Class proceedings are not to be used to needlessly inflate tragic accident into public spectacles.”

The plaintiff has been given until April 23 to either convert the lawsuit into an individual action or to amend the claim and renew the effort to certification as a class action.

The city says it will be making submissions for its legal costs in respect of the motion for certification, in an amount to be determined.

The OC Transpo driver, who was at the wheel of the double-decker bus during the collision, is set to face a trial in March. White said earlier this month that the court outcome will not have any bearing on the compensation process between the city and the crash victims and their families.