10 Feb2014
Written by Bobby Nock. Posted in Local News
The lawyer behind a class-action lawsuit over environmental contamination from the former Sydney Steel Plant says he plans to keep up the fight.
In December, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal threw out the certification of the class-action suit which involves about 400 people to date.
Ray Wagner says he’s now working on two measures that could keep the action before the courts.
Wagner has applied for an extension of the 60-day period to file leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
He’s also asking the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal for a reconsideration of its decision, in light of a subsequent Supreme Court of Canada decision.
In its December decision the Appeal Court threw out the class action, agreeing with defendants the province and Ottawa that there are too many differences between the individual cases of those involved in the action.
Wagner says the country’s highest court has certified class actions on the principle of access to justice.
He adds those involved in the Sydney class action can’t afford the costs of individual actions.
The plaintiffs in the class action are looking for compensation and a medical monitoring fund for contamination resulting from the operation of the steel plant between 1967 and the year 2000.
