Halting legal proceedings against tobacco companies key to ensuring fairness: judge
TORONTO — An Ontario judge says he suspended legal proceedings against three tobacco giants to ensure a level playing field for all parties as the companies try to negotiate a settlement with their creditors.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Thomas McEwen released his reasons Tuesday for last week’s decision to uphold an order that halted any existing or new proceedings involving JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd.
The companies were initially granted the stay last month as they sought creditor protection following the loss of a multibillion-dollar appeal in Quebec.
In March, Quebec’s highest court upheld an earlier, groundbreaking decision that ordered the companies to pay more than $15 billion to smokers in that province who took part in two class-action lawsuits.