Organigram Medical Marijuana
Downton v. Organigram Inc., et al
Nova Scotia Supreme Court File: Hfx No. 460984
Wagners commenced a class proceeding on behalf of individuals who purchased medical cannabis from licensed producer Organigram between February 1, 2016 and December 16, 2016. These lots of cannabis have been recalled due to the presence of prohibited pesticides myclobutanil and bifenazate. The recalled lots are listed at the conclusion of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim filed on March 3, 2017.
Wagners represents many individuals who purchased organic medical marijuana or cannabis products from Organigram of Moncton, New Brunswick which were exposed to pesticides and harmful additives.
If you, or a member of your family, purchased any lots of medical marijuana from Organigram which were subject to the recalls made by the company, you are eligible to be included as a Class Member in our proposed class action lawsuit.
Updates & Latest Developments
Notice of Settlement Approval
A Canada-wide settlement in the Organigram class action lawsuit has been approved by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available in PDF in the Documents section.
Please read the Settlement Approval Notice carefully as it may affect your rights.
A settlement has been reached and approved by the Court in the Organigram class action lawsuit. The Class Action sought compensation for persons and entities who purchased from Organigram Inc. medical cannabis that has been the subject of a voluntary or involuntary recall as of February 14, 2019 (“Class Members”). The certified action alleged that Class Members did not receive the product they had bargained for, and that Class Members should therefore be provided with a return of the purchase price.
On August 31, 2022, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved the settlement as being fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Class Members.
The Settlement Approval Order and Settlement Agreement can be reviewed in the Documents section.
WHO IS AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT
The settlement applies to all persons and entities who purchased from Organigram cannabis for medical purposes that had been recalled as of February 14, 2019. Further details are contained in the Settlement Agreement.
WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT
The Defendants will pay $2,310,000.00 CDN (the “Settlement Fund”), in addition to the third-party costs of administering notice and the settlement, to provide to Class Members a partial refund of the amounts paid to purchase the recalled product. Legal fees and expenses of class counsel will also be paid from the Settlement Fund.
The Settlement Administrator, RicePoint Administration Inc., has reviewed purchase(s) of the recalled product and has calculated Class Members’ entitlements to Individual Payments pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Eligible Class Members will receive either a personalized email or letter, depending on if the Settlement Administrator has the Class Members’ email address or mailing address, outlining details of the Individual Payment. If the personalized letter is sent via email, the Class Member will be sent a separate email providing the Individual Payment via Interac e-Transfer. If the personalized letter is sent via regular mail, a cheque will be included with the letter.
WHO REPRESENTS ME?
Class Counsel are Wagners and Roy O’Connor LLP
Wagners
1869 Upper Water St.
Suite PH 301, Pontac House
Halifax, NS
B3J 1S9
Tel: 902-425-7330/1-800-465-8794
[email protected]
Roy O’Connor LLP
1920 Yonge St
Suite 300
Toronto, ON
M4S 3E6
WHAT ARE LEGAL FEES?
Class Counsel’s legal fees, disbursements and applicable taxes will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The Court has approved payment of Class Counsel legal fees and disbursements and applicable taxes in the amount of $830,709.94.
SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR
The Court has appointed RicePoint Administration Inc. as the Settlement Administrator for the Settlement.
If you have questions about the Settlement Agreement or your Individual Payment, please contact the Settlement Administrator at:
RicePoint Administration Inc.
P.O. Box 3355
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 4K3
Email: [email protected]
The Settlement Approval Motion took place on August 31, 2022 at The Law Courts in Halifax. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved the Settlement Agreement as fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the Class.
The Settlement applies to all persons and entities who purchased from Organigram cannabis for medical purposes that had been recalled as of February 14, 2019 (excluding Veterans Affairs Canada and Aurora Cannabis Inc.). Further details are contained in the Settlement Agreement, a copy of which is available under the Documents section of this webpage.
Under the Settlement, the Defendants will pay $2,310,000.00 CDN, in addition to the costs of administering notice and the settlement, to provide to Class Members a partial refund of the amounts they paid to purchase the recalled cannabis product, minus any amounts already refunded, legal fees and disbursements.
The distribution of individual payments to Class Members is expected to commence by the end of October, 2022. Around that time, Class Members will receive notice of the Settlement Approval and the calculation of their individual payment amount, with an Interac e-Transfer to follow shortly thereafter. For Class Members who do not use email, that same information will be sent via regular mail, with a corresponding cheque in the amount of the individual payment.
The Court has appointed RicePoint Administration Inc. as the Settlement Administrator. RicePoint will send out the notice and distribute the settlement funds. Other than ensuring that RicePoint has your updated contact information, you are not required to do anything.
If you have any questions about the Settlement Agreement or your individual payment, please contact RicePoint at:
RicePoint Administration Inc.
Email: [email protected]
A proposed settlement has been reached in the Organigram class action lawsuit.
The proposed settlement applies to all persons and entities who purchased from Organigram medical cannabis that has been the subject of a voluntary or involuntary recall on or before February 14, 2019 (“Class Members”). The certified action alleges that Class Members did not receive the product they had bargained for, and that Class Members should therefore be provided with a return of the purchase price.
For the proposed settlement to become effective, it must be approved by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The Court must be satisfied that the settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of the Class. The Settlement Approval hearing is scheduled for August 31, 2022, at 9:30 am AST and will take place at The Law Courts Building, 1815 Upper Water St. in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On this same date, class counsel will also be seeking the Court’s approval of legal fees and expenses.
If the proposed settlement is approved, eligible Class Members will automatically receive from the court-appointed Settlement Administrator a notification letter via email describing the amount of the individual payment, as well as the payment itself.
Please see the Documents section to view a copy of the Settlement Agreement, or the Phase I Hearing Notice for further details regarding what to do if you do not want to participate in the settlement and be bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement, or if you wish to object to the proposed settlement or the payment of legal fees to class counsel.
We have amended our pleadings by filing a Third Amended Statement of Claim (on January 19, 2021), and the Certification Order with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to conform with the decision of the Court of Appeal. This included removing reference to “adverse health consequence” (or personal injury) claims.
We continue to push litigation and expect a Notice of Certification will be released shortly.
Our next steps are to amend the pleadings (Notice of Action, Statement of Claim) and the Certification Order to conform with the decision of the Court of Appeal. This would include removing reference to “adverse health consequences claims.” Counsel for the Defendants have already consented to the form of both Orders.
Once the Orders have been issued by the Court, we will file the Third Amended Statement of Claim with the court, and proceed with the implementation and distribution of the Notice of Certification to all registered class members. Copies of the Orders, Third Amended Statement of Claim and Notice of Certification will be made available in the Documents section.
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its Judgment denying our Application for Leave to Appeal.
The Judgment may be found in the Documents section.
We have filed our Reply to Response to Application for Leave to Appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Reply may be found in the Documents section.
Organigram have filed its’ Response to Application for Leave to Appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Response may be found in the Documents section.
Dawn Rae Downton is seeking Leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. She is hoping to challenge the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s decision which overturned the certification of claims alleging personal injury arising from consumption of Organigram’s recalled cannabis containing prohibited pesticides myclobutanil and/or bifenazate.
To view a copy of the Leave to Appeal Memorandum of Argument, please select the following link: Notice of Application and Memorandum of Argument
On April 30, 2020, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released its decision in the matter of Organigram Holdings Inc. et al v. Dawn Rae Downton. The appeal was filed by Organigram and sought to overturn aspects of the January 18, 2019 decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court that certified the lawsuit as a class action proceeding. The Court of Appeal found that the adverse health effects claims were too vague, and that there was no methodology by which the cause of the adverse health effects could be legally linked to the consumption of the contaminated marijuana. As a result, the consumer claims to obtain a refund of the money that class members spent on the recalled product will be permitted to proceed.
To view a copy of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s decision, please select the following link: Appeal – Appeal of Certification Decision – RELEASED 2020 04 30
The Defendants have filed an appeal of certification, which will be heard at 2 p.m. on October 15, 2019 at the Court of Appeal in Halifax.
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has certified this proceeding as a class action. To view the certification decision and the issued court Order for Certification, please select the following links:
Order for Certification issued February 14, 2019
Certification Decision dated January 18, 2019
LINKS TO MEDIA
Class-action lawsuit against OrganiGram gets green light – CBC January 21, 2019
Lawsuit against medical pot producer Organigram to go forward – Digital Journal January 22, 2019
Court OKs trial in OrganiGram class action – The Herald January 22, 2019
Organigram Inc. is a supplier of certified organic cannabis (marijuana) with headquarters based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Organigram supplies thousands of Canadians with dried and oil-based medical marijuana and cannabis products. The company promotes itself as offering organic cannabis that is free of harmful chemical pesticides.
On December 28, 2016, Organigram issued a recall of a number of its products after five lots of cannabis tested positive for the presence of myclobutanil and/or bifenazate. These are pesticides that are not authorized for use on cannabis plants under the Pest Control Products Act. The levels of pesticides detected in the cannabis were higher than is allowed in consumer products. Organigram expanded the recall to include all cannabis and/or marijuana (either dried or in oil form) products produced between February 1, 2016 and December 16, 2016.
Wagners Law Firm filed a proposed class action on March 3, 2017, against Organigram Inc. and Organigram Holdings Inc. with respect to the presence of myclobutanil and/or bifenazate in its organic medical marijuana and cannabis products.
The lots that are the subject of the recalls may be found as a schedule at the end of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim which was filed on March 3, 2017.
Health Canada has issued an alert advising consumers and users of the potential contamination and possible harmful health consequences associated with the cannabis products made by Organigram (http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2017/61750r-eng.php).
Wagners is registering individuals who wish to participate in the proposed class action against Organigram. If you or a loved one purchased from OrganiGram cannabis for medical purposes that has been the subject of a voluntary or involuntary recall as of February 14, 2019, please do not hesitate to contact us to be included in the class action.
Certification was granted on January 18, 2019.