THUNDER BAY — When a Superior Court judge holds a hearing next month on whether to authorize a class action lawsuit against the City of Thunder Bay, interested members of the public will be able to view the proceedings online.
The hearing was originally scheduled for March, was then adjourned to June 7, and has now been rescheduled to June 14 before Justice Paul Perell in Toronto.
He's now overseeing the case following the death from illness this month of Justice Edward Belobaba, who was originally assigned to it.
As soon as the court releases the Zoom coordinates, the law firm acting for the proposed representative plaintiff — city resident Patsy Stadnyk — will provide instructions on its website for people wanting to watch the hearing as it takes place.
If a second day of oral arguments is required, the hearing will resume on June 15.
Besides deciding whether a class action is merited, the court will determine the parameters for membership in the class.
If approved, anyone falling within those parameters will automatically be included in any settlement.
The proposed lawsuit seeks $350 million in compensation from the city to cover the cost of leaks in water pipes allegedly caused by the use of sodium hydroxide in the water supply starting in 2018.
A lawyer working on the case has stated that the number of parties interested in the case is likely in the thousands.
In a separate action in which St. Joseph's Care Group is suing the city for $350,000 for damages caused by pinhole leaks at the PR Cook apartment building at St. Joseph's Heritage, the city has denied that it was negligent in any way in its management of the water system.
