This class action has been transferred to:
TRUDEL JOHNSTON & LESPÉRANCE
Avocats / Barristers & Sollicitors
750, Côte de la Place d'Armes, suite 90
Montréal QC H2Y 2X8
T 514 871-8385
F 514 871-8800
[email protected]
Conseil québécois sur le tabac et la santé & al. v. JTI-MacDonald & al.
Superior Court, district of Montréal, no 500-06-000076-980
In the context of the class action against the tobacco companies, Justice Riordan ordered, by judgment dated July 3, 2013, the modification of the group which was defined at the authorization of the class action and this, more particularly with respect to the definition of “throat cancer”. You will find below the group definition as modified.
“The group is composed of all persons residing in Quebec who satisfy the following criteria:
1) To have smoked, before November 20, 1998, a minimum of 5 pack/years of cigarettes made by the defendants (that is the equivalent of a minimum of 36 500 cigarettes, namely any combination of the number of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of days of consumption insofar as the total is equal or greater than 36500 cigarettes).
For example, 5 pack/years equals:
20 cigarettes per day for 5 years (20 X 365 X 5 = 36500)
or
25 cigarettes per day for 4 years (25 X 365 X 4 = 36500)
or
10 cigarettes per day for 10 years (10 X 365 X 10 = 36500)
or
5 cigarettes per day for 20 years (5 X 365 x 20 = 36500) or
50 cigarettes per day for 2 years (50 X 365 X 2 = 36500)
2) To have been diagnosed before March 12, 2012 with:
a) Lung cancer or
b) Cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) of the throat, that is to say of the larynx, the oropharynx or the hypopharynx or
c) Emphysema.
The group also includes the heirs of the persons deceased after November 20, 1998 who satisfied the criteria mentioned herein.”
The anatomical sites likely to be included in the definition of “throat” are more specifically:
a) The larynx (composed of three sections: supraglottis, glottis and subglottis).
b) The oropharynx (composed of the soft palate, the tonsils and their pillars (anterior and posterior), the suprahyoid posterior pharyngeal wall and the base of the tongue (back third of the tongue).
c) The hypopharynx (composed of the piriform sinuses, the postcricoid area and the infrahyoid posterior pharyngeal wall).
A notice was published in newspapers on October 5, 2013 in order to notify group members of this modification.
Only the members included in either of the groups, as modified by the July 3, 2013 judgment, will be able to assert their rights against the tobacco manufacturers. These members will be bound by any judgment to be rendered in these class actions and will eventually benefit from such judgment, unless they exclude themselves by notifying the Clerk of the Superior Court of the district of Montreal, at 1, Notre-Dame East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6, before December 31, 2013. Only those who do not want to be included in the present class actions have to notify the Clerk, otherwise there is nothing to do for the time being.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The trial started on March 12, 2012 and is ongoing.
To follow the hearing, please consult the blog Eye on the trials: http://tobaccotrial.blogspot.ca
DOCUMENTS
Notice to members October 5, 2013
Judgment authorizing the class action dated February 21, 2005 (French version only)
Notice to members
Amended Motion to Institute Proceedings (French version only)