SISIP LTD Allowances Class Action
CLASS ACTION REGARDING THE CALCULATION OF LONG TERM DISABILITY BENEFITS UNDER DIVISION 2, PART III(B) of SISIP POLICY #901102
Simon Logan v. His Majesty The King
Federal Court of Canada Number T-1358-18
Individual Calculation Sheet
If you have received a payment without an individual calculation sheet, please contact Manulife to request the individual calculation sheet.
Income Taxes
Similar to your SISIP long term disability benefits, your recovery from this class action is taxable.
You will receive the corresponding tax slip from Manulife by the end of February following the year that you were paid.
You can find the amount deducted for legal fees on the individual calculation sheet.
We encourage class members, particularly those with large payments, to seek tax advice from an accountant.
Update on Logan Class Action Payments from the Government of Canada
The Administrator of the Logan Class Action was not able to begin payments under the settlement in mid-2023, as expected, because the Terms for their engagement were not yet in place. The delay in finalizing the Terms was caused by the need to negotiate many complex issues, some of which were unforeseen, involving multiple parties and government officials. The negotiations took place from June 9 to November 23, 2023. No part of the delay was caused by Class Counsel. The Court approved the Terms December 6, 2023, and the first payments were issued December 15, 2023. As a result, the Administrator could not meet the target set out in the Final Settlement Implementation Agreement (“FSIA”) of 50% of claims paid by June 24, 2024.
Canada requested, and was granted, an extension of time by the Federal Court, as allowed under the FSIA. The Administrator has been given until October 18, 2024 to make 50% of payments and December 31, 2024 to make 70% of payments. Importantly, the Administrator is optimistic that it can achieve the ultimate deadline set out in the FSIA of 100% of payments made by June 24, 2025, excluding estate claims, claims subject to appeals, and claims where further information has been requested of a class member but not received.
UPDATE: January 25, 2024
As stated in the below update, Manulife has begun to make payments to class members. We have been advised that payments are currently being processed by release dates, starting with those released earliest.
Class Counsel is unable to advise members as to the timing or the amount of payment to a class member before the payment is processed. Class Members will be advised of the amount of their retroactive payment at the time of payment.
UPDATE: January 4, 2024
We are pleased to advise that payments to class members have started.
With limited exceptions for deceased Class Members and Class Members with appeals, 50% of Class Members will receive their retroactive payment by June 23, 2024 and each Class Member is expected to receive their retroactive payment by June 23, 2025.
We take this opportunity to highlight some important dates, notably the deadlines to appeal various decisions, as outlined in the Settlement Agreement, approved by the Federal Court on April 24, 2023. Below, please see the deadlines for appealing your exclusion from the Class list, appealing the amount received, and appealing the monthly amount of Income Replacement Benefit payable to you after your SISIP benefits adjustment.
Appealing your exclusion from the Class list
You have until June 23, 2024, to appeal your exclusion to the class. If you have not been informed you are a Class Member, but believe you fall within the definition of the Class, as defined by the Court, please contact us by e-mailing [email protected].
The Class is defined as follows: All former members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were released on or before December 31, 2021, and who on or after July 17, 2012 received, long term disability benefits and/or dismemberment benefits under Division 2, Part III(B) of SISIP Policy 901102, and had a monthly allowance from the Canadian Armed Forces in effect on the date of their release from the Canadian Armed Forces or, in the case of a Class “C” member, when the injury was incurred or the illness was contracted.
Appealing the amount received
Class Members will receive their payments as Manulife processes the amount of their entitlement. Each Class Member will receive a detailed breakdown showing the information used to determine the payment owed to the Class member.
If you believe there is an error in the calculation of your payment, you must file your appeal within 60 days of receiving it.
To ensure we can help with this process and meet the 60-day deadline, please contact class counsel as soon as possible if you believe there is an error with your additional amount. You may reach us by emailing [email protected].
Appealing the monthly amount of Income Replacement Benefit payable to you after your SISIP benefits adjustment
If you continue to receive SISIP benefits and Income Replacement Benefits, your IRB monthly amount will be adjusted going forward to account for the increase in SISIP benefits.
Class Members have 60 days from the date on which they receive notice of VAC’s recalculation of their Income Replacement Benefit to request a review by Veterans Affairs Canada, unless circumstances beyond the Class Member’s control warrant an extension to that period.
UPDATE: June 27, 2023
The Court’s order approving the settlement agreement has become final.
The administration of the settlement agreement can now proceed. With limited exceptions for deceased Class Members and Class Members with appeals, 50% of Class Members will receive their retroactive payment within one year of June 23, 2023 and each Class Member will receive their retroactive payment within two years of June 23, 2023.
Class Members will be advised of the amount of their retroactive payment at the time of payment. Class Counsel is unable to advise of the amount of payment before that time.
For more information, Please find the Court approved Notice of Settlement Approval here: Notice of Settlement Approval
UPDATE: April 25, 2023
The Court has issued its decision to approve the settlement of this class action.
You can read the Court’s decision here: T-1358-18.OrderAndReasons.
UPDATE: April 13, 2023
Earlier today, the Federal Court heard the parties’ motion to approve the settlement agreement.
At the end of the hearing, the Court advised that it will issue its decision in writing at a later date.
We will post an update as soon as we receive the Court’s decision.
UPDATE: February 6, 2023
Representative Plaintiff, Simon Logan, and the Federal Government have come to a Proposed Settlement in the Class Action regarding the Calculation of Canadian Armed Forces Long Term Disability (CAF-LTD) Insurance Benefits for Disabled Canadian Armed Forces Veterans.
Court approved Notice of a Proposed Resolution of this Class Action
Proposed Final Settlement Implementation Agreement
UPDATE: July 9, 2022
Update from Government of Canada – July 9, 2022
Mise à jour du gouvernement du Canada – 9 juillet, 2022
UPDATE: April 6, 2022
The Government of Canada has advised Class Counsel that it is committed to meeting as soon as possible to resolve this important matter. Both parties will be providing the Federal Court with a progress update on April 29, 2022. The parties remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached. If an agreement is reached, the parties will advise Class Members and seek the necessary Court approval as quickly as possible.
UPDATE: November 1, 2021
I am writing to provide an update in the class action of Logan v. Canada. As you likely know, in March 2020, the Federal Court ruled that the Federal Government did not properly calculate long term disability benefits as it failed to include a CAF Regular Force member’s allowances at the time of their medical release in the calculation. For Class C reservists, the applicable time period is the date of their injury.
The Federal Government has accepted this decision. However, some issues remain to be resolved. The parties are currently in discussions, and hope to resolve these issues towards a settlement agreement in early 2022.
UPDATE: May 7, 2021
The parties held a case management conference on April 30, 2021.
In an effort to resolve the remaining issues, we requested the appointment of a Federal Court judge to conduct a judicial mediation between the parties. The Government of Canada has agreed with our request. Once the judge is appointed in the upcoming weeks, the parties will work with him or her to schedule the judicial mediation process.
As always, we are working to move this matter along as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
UPDATE: February 1, 2021
At this time we are awaiting the Government of Canada’s position on a number of outstanding issues. We are using the Court process to move this matter ahead as quickly as possible. Our next case management conference is scheduled for April 30, 2021.
UPDATE: December 4, 2020
The parties are proceeding with settlement discussions in the hope of resolving the remaining issues in early 2021. In addition, the parties have a case management conference scheduled with the Court on January 29, 2021.
This update is information only; there is no action required by Class Members. Further, we are currently unable to calculate individual awards, nor are we able to estimate a timeline on any payments.
UPDATE: September 24, 2020
The parties are scheduled to appear in court in early November to discuss the next steps in this proceeding. We will provide a further update following this appearance.
This update is informative only; there is no action required by Class Members. Further, we are currently unable to calculate individual awards, nor are we able to estimate a timeline on any payments.
UPDATE: May 20, 2020
The Court approved update to the Class is available here.
This Notice is informative only; there is no action required by Class Members. Further, we are currently unable to calculate individual awards, nor are we able to estimate a timeline on any payments.
The offices of McInnes Cooper are currently closed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we will not be able to return any phone calls or emails at this time.
UPDATE: March 25, 2020
On March 24, 2020, the Federal Court ruled that the Federal Government has underpaid many disabled veterans who were medically released from the Canadian Armed Forces.
The decision is available here: https://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fc-cf/decisions/en/nav_date.do
Specifically, the Federal Court ruled that veterans’ allowances at the time of their medical release should have been included in the calculation of their long term disability benefits.
We are very pleased with this result. However, the Federal Government may appeal the Court’s decision. We ask that, if you are interested in this issue, you contact your Member of Parliament and urge the Federal Government not to appeal this decision.
Presently, we are unable to calculate what award individual members may be entitled to. The offices of McInnes Cooper are currently closed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we will not be able to return any phone calls or emails at this time.
What is this Class Action About?
The Plaintiff and the Class say that the Defendant breached the terms of Division 2, Part III(B) of SISIP Policy 901102 by improperly calculating the monthly income benefit and monthly income benefit – dismemberment.
Division 2, Part III(B) of SISIP Policy 901102 provides long term disability and dismemberment insurance to members of the Regular Force and Reserve Force – Class C who were medically released from the Canadian Armed Forces on or after December 1, 1999.
In particular, the Plaintiff and the Class say the Defendant failed to include monthly allowances as part of the “member’s monthly pay in effect on the date of release from the Canadian Forces” or “solde mensuelle du membre à la date de libération des Forces canadiennes” for the purposes of calculating the monthly income benefits of Regular Force Members.
Further, the Plaintiff and the Class say the Defendant failed to include monthly allowances as part of their “monthly pay in effect when the injury was incurred or the illness was contracted” or “la solde mensuelle en vigueur au moment où la blessure est survenue ou que la maladie a été contractée” for the purposes of calculating the monthly income benefits in the case of a Reserve Force Class “C” member.
Who are the Class Members?
The Federal Court has defined the Class as follows:
All former members of the Canadian Armed Forces who on or after July 17, 2012, received long term disability benefits and/or dismemberment benefits under Division 2, Part III(B) of SISIP Policy 901102, and had an allowance from the Canadian Armed Forces in effect on the date of their release from the Canadian Armed Forces or, in the case of a Class “C” member, when the injury was incurred or the illness was contracted. (“Class”)
What do I need to do to take part?
All class members have the right to participate in the class action. You are automatically included in the class action unless you opt-out of participating. You do not need to do anything if you wish to participate. If you wish to opt-out, you must do so by completing an opt-out form available from McInnes Cooper. Your opt-out form must be received no later than 28 January 2020. If you opt-out, you will not be affected by any decision the Court makes on the common issue in the class action, and will not be eligible to receive any payment from a settlement or judgment in favour of the Class.
Any Class Member who does not opt out will be bound by any settlement approved or judgment rendered by the Court.
McInnes Cooper can help you confirm whether you are a Class Member.
Do I need to pay anything?
You do not need to pay any legal fees directly out of your pocket. If the case is unsuccessful, no legal fees will be charged. By agreement with the representative plaintiff, a legal fee up to 33% of any amounts received may be paid to class counsel. If any settlement, judgment, or other benefit is obtained, class counsel shall apply to the Federal Court for approval of its fees.
Who is the Lawyer for the Class?
Daniel Wallace
McInnes Cooper
1300-1969 Upper Water Street
Halifax, NS B3J 2V1
Tel: 902.444.8417
Fax: 902.426.6350
Email: [email protected]
Where can I find more information ?
For more information or to opt-out of the class action, please contact McInnes Cooper at the address or email above.
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.
To view the latest press release (January 11th, 2023) click here.
