Justice delayed is justice denied

A March 4, 2016 report relates the good news that 1,600 Scotiabank employees will receive the overtime pay due to them. The bad news is that the $20.5-million settlement required nine years of legal wrangling. The $12.5-million in legal fees must also be borne by the bank.

In a similar class-action suit, 31,000 CIBC staff are currently engaged in a on-going suit against the bank also for unpaid overtime. The lawsuit was filed in June 2007.

A friend's stock brokerage firm was bought out by a bank. The bank attempted to modify my friend's pension to his detriment.  He sued. Four years later he won. The bank appealed.

In a lawsuit against the Law Society of Upper Canada, I was offered a settlement six years after the writ was issued. I did not recover my legal fees which amounted to half of the settlement.

The modus operandi on the part of corporations is the hope the plaintiff will lose interest, run out of money to continue the suit, or better still, die. In the latter case, the deceased's estate could be held liable for all costs.