Plaintiffs in lawsuit over Westcourt Place fire alarmed by clause in tentative settlement

A plaintiff and former tenant in a class action lawsuit against the owners of a downtown Windsor apartment building that had a fire five years ago says he and others are up in arms over a clause in the settlement agreement.

The agreement, which will go before a judge on March 6, allows the defendant corporation that owns Westcourt Place to void the settlement if more than 30 plaintiffs choose to move back into their apartments in the building.

"Everybody is going crazy because there's so much pain and suffering," Chad Robinson said.

"There's so [many] people lost stuff – their furniture. They're displaced. It was a nightmare trying to get their furniture."

The tenants' lawyer says he thinks they will have a deal, and CBC News did not receive comment from the lawyer for the building.

The fire happened on Nov. 12, 2019, displacing more than 200 residents and several commercial tenants.

It was triggered by an electrical failure in the building's parking garage. 

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Harvey Strosberg, told CBC earlier this month that he could not say how much money any one litigant might receive under the tentative settlement. But he said, residential tenants who terminate or have terminated their leases will be entitled to at least $5,500. 

Plaintiffs have until Feb. 19 to file objections to the settlement agreement. 

That's also the deadline by which tenants who retained their leases must signal their intent to move back into their suites.

It's not clear how many plan to do so.

Robinson expressed fears that voiding the settlement agreement would result in lawyers getting paid while the former tenants who terminated their leases got nothing.

But a staff lawyer at the University of Windsor's class action clinic said that's not the case: Settlements are an all-or-nothing deal for everyone, including the lawyers.

If the agreement falls through, Andrew Eckart said, the litigation against Westcourt's owners will simply resume.

But he said he can understand why tenants are so concerned.

"I can't imagine actually what that must be like for someone in a situation like this," Eckart said. "It's your home. It's the place that you're supposed to feel comfortable … And now you're basically put in a position where you need to decide if you're moving out fully and completely or whether you'd like to stay in.

"And that if you do elect one of those things, that because of decisions of other people that you don't have control over, the settlement might not actually play out. I feel for that."

The plaintiffs plan to have a Zoom meeting on Friday to decide on their next steps, Robinson said.

If the settlement falls apart, it could give way to a protracted legal battle, he said.

"We might not see money for a year or two," he added.

"And then people – they won't probably even get their apartment. So then no one wins."

Asked for his comment on the tenants' concerns, Strosberg told CBC, "We think we'll have a deal. But everyone has to stand back and wait."