Canadians could soon get a piece of two class-action settlements accusing Loblaw and its parent company of engaging in an industrywide scheme to fix the price of bread, but there are still some steps left before the money rolls out.
Before anyone can claim money, both class-action settlements against Loblaw and parent company George Weston Ltd. must be approved in court.
Earlier this month, the settlement that was filed in Ontario was approved by Judge Ed Morgan, who said the $500-million settlement was excellent, fair and in the best interest of class members.
The second was filed in Quebec and is expected to be heard by a judge for potential approval June 16.
“If the settlement is approved, it will resolve all claims against Loblaw and Weston related to this matter,” a press release from Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP and Orr Taylor LLP said in March when announcing the proposed settlement.
Should both class-action settlements be approved, a settlement agreement posted online says 78 per cent of the funds will be allocated to the Ontario suit to be distributed to people in both that province and the rest of the country.
The other 22 per cent will go towards the Quebec lawsuit and those in that province.
Who will get a slice of the money?
Individuals and businesses that are eligible are automatically included in the Ontario class action, with the same for Quebec residents under the lawsuit in that province.
A total of $404 million of the $500-million total will be paid by Loblaw and George Weston Ltd. to those eligible, with the other $96 million having already been distributed through the company’s Loblaw Card Program that ran from 2018 to 2019. That program was conducted in hopes of making amends with customers who paid about $1.50 more per loaf of bread.
According to the law firm’s notice from March, individuals and businesses living or operating in Canada outside of Quebec who purchased packaged bread between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2021, are automatically included in the Ontario class action.
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Quebec residents are eligible if they purchased at least one package of bread between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 19, 2019.
Those eligible for the Ontario settlement must also have lived in Canada, excluding Quebec, as of Dec. 31, 2021, and also must not be a defendant in the suit or a related party.
Justin Smith, a lawyer with Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP, told Global News that those who received one of the Loblaw gift cards between 2018 and 2019 are also still eligible. If they do join, he said that $25, the amount of the gift card, will be deducted from any potential money a person would receive.
The amount that will be paid out, however, is not known at this time.
The Ontario settlement website says it’s “not possible to accurately estimate the amount of compensation an individual will receive at this time,” as it will depend on the number of approved claims and net amount available.
What is known is that 99.5 per cent of the distribution will go to individuals, with 0.5 per cent set aside for businesses and “other entities” that purchased bread for resale.
The opt-out period for the Ontario class action has passed, with the period closing for Quebec residents on Friday.
Once both lawsuits have been approved, an online claims process will be established through the Ontario and Quebec settlement websites for people to make a claim for compensation.
Jim Orr, partner at Orr Taylor LLP, said in the March 11 news release that the settlement would also provide access to information that would be used in continuing the case against remaining defendants, including Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger.
While the Ontario class action has been approved, the Quebec one could still be rejected.
Should this happen and it remains rejected after any appeals are made, both the Ontario and Quebec settlements would become “null and void” and the $404 million would go back to the companies involved.
The gift cards that were distributed in 2018 and 2019, which made up $96 million of the overall settlement, would not be returned.
He said all parties involved in the two settlements would then return to “litigation positions.”
The offer Loblaw and George Weston made garnered four objections and 475 opt-outs, which Morgan said “are very small numbers in view of the estimated 20 million-plus class members.”
No one who objected to the settlement appeared in court to explain their views, but a review of their written submissions showed they were fighting the settlement because they would like more money, Morgan said.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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