Poyner Baxter
Woodlands School
May 14, 2004
Poyner Baxter appeared in the BC Court of Appeal today and argued the carriage motion. The court reserved judgment. When judgment has been delivered, it will be posted on this webpage.
November 6, 2003
On a recent application brought on behalf of the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, the BC Court of Appeal reversed a previous decision and ruled that an appeal of Madame Justice Morrison's carriage order will proceed. The appeal will be heard on May 14, 2004.
This means that the application to the court for certification pursuant to the Class Proceedings Act scheduled for October 29, 2004 will once again be delayed and will be dealt with a time yet to be determined.
September 5, 2003
Today, the BC Court of Appeal dismissed the application for leave to appeal the carriage order which was previously granted in favour of Poyner Baxter. This means that once this case has been certified under the Class Proceedings Act, then Poyner Baxter will continue as lead counsel on behalf of the Woodlands School abuse victims.
Poyner Baxter is now in a position to schedule a certification application and when this has been done, the information will be posted on this web page.
July 23, 2003
The judgment which was granted in favour of Poyner Baxter giving them carriage of this class action and appointing them lead counsel is now under appeal by lawyers representing the Public Guardian and Trustee office of British Columbia. No date for the hearing of the appeal has been set but without doubt the previous scheduling of the certification application under the provisions of the Class Proceedings Act will be delayed further.
July 16, 2003
Poyner Baxter would like to announce that we were successful on the carriage motion. On July 11, 2003, Madam Justice Morrison made a order appointing Poyner Baxter as lead counsel to pursue litigation seeking damages for both sexual and physical abuse victim survivors of Woodlands School. The court also made an order that the action brought on behalf of the Public Guardian and Trustee office pursuant to the Class Proceedings Act be stayed.
The next step in this litigation is to apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for certification as a class action pursuant to the Class Proceedings Act. This is a major step in the litigation and requires substantial preparation. This hearing had been scheduled to take place for 3 days commencing on November 12, 2003. Because of the carriage motion made necessary by the action brought on by the Public Guardian and Trustee office, there has been a substantial delay in the normal process and it will not be possible to meet this date.
Because of this, Madam Justice Morrison has agreed that the certification hearing will now take place in or about May 2004. A specific date has not yet been arranged. The Court was made aware, however, that if the Public Guardian and Trustee office makes a decision to appeal her order on the carriage motion issue, further delays will likely result.
If you would like to read Madam Justice Morrison's decision, please click here.
January 24, 2003
In December the Public Guardian & Trustee of British Columbia commenced a similar lawsuit which they seek to have certified as a class action on behalf of the Victims/Survivors of Woodlands School. The Public Guardian & Trustee of British Columbia takes the position that they are better qualified to represent the class than Poyner Baxter.
Before Poyner Baxter can proceed to certification under the Class Proceedings Act, it will now be necessary to argue what is known as a Carriage Motion before the trial management judge, Madam Justice Morrison, for a determination as to whether the putative class proceedings to be prosecuted on behalf of the Woodlands Victims/Survivors should be under the control of Poyner Baxter or the Public Guardian & Trustee of British Columbia. This Motion will be heard in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on April 17th, 2003.
The hearing for the application for certification pursuant to the Class Proceedings Act is scheduled to take place November 12 – 14th, 2003.
January 23, 2003
Poyner Baxter commenced an action against Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia on August 2nd, 2002. This action is brought on the Plaintiff’s behalf and on behalf of all persons who were previously confined to Woodlands and who suffered abuse including, but not limited to, physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and/or who failed to receive a proper education while being confined to Woodlands.
A Case Management Conference is proceeding on January 24th, 2003, before Madam Justice Morrison.
To review the Statement of Claim that was filed, please click on the link below:
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