Photo: Foreman & Company founder and partner, Jonathan Foreman (file photo)
FOREMAN & COMPANY, A London-based law firm specializing in class action litigation, has announced that a proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Ontario Energy Group and Home Trust Company.
Foreman & Company represents the plaintiff in the class action, brought on behalf of thousands of consumer victims of an allegedly unlawful home equipment leasing business.
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The class action relates to lease, rental and maintenance agreements for household equipment such as furnaces, air conditioners and water heaters, entered into in Ontario between May 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, which are alleged to have failed to comply with legal requirements under Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002.
The action sought damages and other remedies for class members.
Ontario Energy Group is the company that entered into lease agreements with Ontario consumers for the installation, rental, and servicing of HVAC equipment; Home Trust Company is alleged to have purchased an interest in the lease agreements, collected money from class members under the lease agreements and to have registered liens against consumers’ homes.
Pursuant to the proposed settlement, the defendants have agreed to pay $14,950,000 for the benefit of class members in addition to other specified relief, including debt management and the cancellation and forgiveness of certain agreements entirely in exceptional circumstances.
Ontario Energy Group has also agreed to implement various contractual changes to its consumer agreements on a go-forward basis.
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The settlement, which was negotiated over more than two years with the assistance of the retired Chief Justice of Ontario acting as a neutral mediator, is not an admission by the defendants of liability, fault or wrongdoing, but is a compromise of disputed claims.
The settlement must be approved by the court before it becomes effective. In addition, the plan for distributing the settlement funds to class members must also be approved by the Court before payments can be made.
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