(Toronto) Three tobacco giants are again seeking to extend an order staying legal proceedings against them as they negotiate a settlement with creditors in a long-running case involving an order requiring them to pay billions of dollars to some 100 000 smokers and their loved ones.
Documents filed with an Ontario court show the companies – JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. – request that the suspension of procedures remain in force until the end of March 2025.
The application was due to be heard on Tuesday, but court documents show it was postponed until October 31, with the stay extended until that date. It was previously scheduled to expire today.
The order to stay legal proceedings against the companies was first granted in early 2019 after the three companies lost an appeal in a landmark legal battle in Quebec.
The stay is intended to maintain the status quo while the companies work out a comprehensive settlement with class action members and several other creditors, including provincial governments seeking to recoup tobacco-related health care costs.
The initial suspension of proceedings lasted a few months, but has since been renewed a dozen times. Negotiations are confidential.
Several health advocacy groups have expressed concerns about delays and a lack of public information surrounding the case. They argue Canada could miss what they see as a historic opportunity to impose regulations and tobacco reduction measures on the industry.
Some groups have further argued that the creditor protection process is inherently problematic in this case because it focuses on the viability of the industry rather than public health and other issues.
The companies sought creditor protection in Ontario after Quebec’s top court ordered them to pay more than $15 billion to about 100,000 Quebecers in two class actions.
The lawsuits involved smokers who started smoking between 1950 and 1998 and became ill or addicted, or involved their heirs.
Court filings last September suggest that hundreds of class action members have died since creditor protection proceedings began.