A tentative settlement worth approximately $5.5 million was reached on behalf of freelancers with a group of publishers including the Toronto Star Newspapers and Rogers Publishing. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice will consider the tentative settlement in April.
Many Canadian freelance writers have heard of Robertson v. Thomson, a 2006 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which found that newspapers and magazines did not have the unilateral right to re-publish freelancers’ work in other formats, notably computerized databases. Since that award five years ago, other class action suits alleging similar facts have been launched by writer Heather Robertson on behalf of groups of freelance writers – including the one that just settled.
The Supreme Court decision eventually resulted in a settlement and payout of $11 million by the defendants, which included Thomson Corporation and Bell Globemedia. Since then, there has also been a settlement valued at approximately $7 million with Canwest Global Communications. In that case, the complainants effectively became creditors in Canwest’s CCAA proceedings.
For more details about the various settlements, or to file a claim, contact law firm Koskie Minsky at 416-977-8353 or contactus@kmlaw.ca.
