Case summary
1. In this action the plaintiffs allege that the defendants Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., The Hershey Company, Hershey Canada, Inc., Nestle Canada Inc., Mars Incorporated, Mars Canada Inc. and ITWAL Limited conspired and agreed among themselves, and others, to fix, increase, maintain or stabilize the price for chocolate confectionary products in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada, thereby lessening competition in the Canadian markets for these products.
2. The action is brought on behalf of all persons in Canada who purchased a chocolate confectionary product in Canada, in the period February 1, 2001 to November 28, 2007 except persons who are included in companion actions commenced in British Columbia and Québec.
3. The law firms of Sutts, Strosberg LLP (Windsor and Toronto), Siskinds LLP and Harrison Pensa LLP (London) are counsel in the Ontario action.
4. The Ontario action will be prosecuted in conjunction with companion actions in provinces other than Ontario. A list of counsel acting on behalf of the some of the plaintiffs in those actions is available here.
5. Settlements were reached in each action with the defendants Cadbury Adams Canada Inc. and Cadbury Holdings Limited (formerly known as Cadbury Schweppes PLC), and ITWAL Limited. The settling defendants did not admit liability but they agreed to pay $5.7 million and provide co-operation to the plaintiffs.
6. The Ontario action was certified as a class action against the settling defendants. The opt-out deadline has passed. Any potential class member who did not want to participate in the class action had to exclude him/her/itself (opt out) in writing by April 13, 2010.
7. The settlements were approved by the Ontario court on May 5, 2010, the British Columbia court on June 10, 2010 and the Québec court on August 23, 2010.
8. The non-settling defendants appealed the approval of the settlements. On December 7, 2010 the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals.
9. The non-settling defendants then sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. On July 7, 2011, their applications for leave to appeal were dismissed.
10. The Notice of Settlement Approvals may be reviewed here [English] [French].
11. The action is continuing against the non-settling defendants. The plaintiffs have provided their materials for the certification motion. The case management judge has given the non-settling defendants until March 15, 2012 to deliver their responding materials. The judge intends to schedule the certification motion for a date between August and December, 2012.
12. Hershey has brought a motion to strike the plaintiffs’ claim against it. The judge will give reasons shortly deciding whether the motion should be heard with certification or in advance thereof.
13. If you would like to speak to someone about this lawsuit, please contact Sutts, Strosberg LLP at 1.800.229.5323, extension 8296.
14. If you would like to learn more about how a class action works, please click here.
IMPORTANT NOTE
This website provides general information to class members on a class action commenced against Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., The Hershey Company, Hershey Canada, Inc., Nestle Canada Inc., Mars Incorporated, Mars Canada Inc. and ITWAL Limited.
The site is not designed to answer questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as a substitute for individual legal advice.
Any information collected about potential class members will assist counsel in prosecuting the class action and assessing what damages were suffered by the class as a whole. Providing the information requested does not make you a client of Sutts, Strosberg LLP, Siskinds LLP or Harrison Pensa LLP.
This website is updated from time to time to provide class members with further information.