Catalyst Class Action

At a Case Management Conference held at 9 am today, the Honourable Judge Kelleher approved a form of Notice  of Class Action and required that Catalyst deliver such Notice to each member of the various classes.

Catalyst is to deliver and/or mail the Notice to each class member by Monday, June 6th.

The Notice will include a form allowing each BC resident class member to opt-out of the proceeding, should he or she wish to do so, and in the case of class members who reside outside of the province of BC, an opt-in form.

The reason that class members living in BC or outside of BC get different forms is that once a class proceeding is certified, BC residents are automatically in, while non-BC residents are not in unless they opt in.

Consequently, for each class member that is a BC resident (ie. as we understand it, all or nearly all of the class members) nothing needs to be done with the opting forms if the person wishes to continue to participate in the class action.

A copy of the Notice of Class Action and the opting forms is available here.

NOTE:  If any class member wishes to discuss issues relating to the proceeding, you may contact TevlinGleadle to do so at

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Counsel appeared before Judge Kelleher in BC Supreme Court Chambers today at a Case Management Conference, to attempt to resolve the form of Notice to be given to class members.

The court heard submissions from counsel as to the form of Notice that would be appropriate in the circumstances but made no determination. The Court directed another Case Management Conference at 9 am on Tuesday May 24, 2011, for further submissions on the point.

In response to inquiries from class members about the process for determination of individual claims, we have published a FAQ for the Catalyst class action.  Interested persons may find answers to their questions there.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Kelleher of the Supreme Court of British Columbia handed down Reasons for Judgement certifying Mr. Somerville's action as a class proceeding under the BC Class Proceedings Act.

The plaintiff was successfully able to obtain the court's approval for certification of the employment law claims on his own behalf and all others who had not accepted settlement offers from the employer.

The Reasons for Judgement set out precisely which issues are common issues and which issues will remain to be determined as individual issues.

Next steps will involve entry of a formal Certification Order,which we will post here, and then steps for notice of the order to class members.