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Class Action News

Class Action News Vol. 1, Issue 1, Summer 2014

2 - 3 DRUG & MEDICAL CLASS ACTIONSDrugs and medical therapies under litigation

4 - 5 SOCIAL JUSTICE CLASS ACTIONSSocial justice lawsuits

5 CONSUMER PRODUCTSLawsuits related to consumer products

with the necessary resources are essential to success. At McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP, our team of class action counsel has acted in a broad range of class proceedings in Ontario and other provinces across Canada. From certification to common issues trials, from settlement negotiations to settlement approvals, our class action team has the experience and reputation to get the job done.

You have contacted us regarding various class actions in the past, and we wanted to reach out and give you a more complete picture of who we are and what we’re working on.

Class Action lawsuits are high stakes litigation. The rights of hundreds and often thousands of class members depend on the outcome. The battle lines are drawn and experienced counsel

Welcome to the first issue of the McKenzie Lake Lawyers class action newsletter

McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP 140 Fullarton Street, Suite 1800, London, ON N6A 5P2

Class Action News

McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP 140 Fullarton Street, Suite 1800, London, ON N6A 5P2

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Testosterone Replacement TherapyAndrogel, Androderm, Axiron, Andriol, PMS Testosterone, Testm 1%, Depo-Testosterone, Delatestryl, Testosterone Cypionate Injection

Recent studies suggest that use of “low-t” therapies increases the risk of suffering a heart attack and oth-er cardiovascular injuries among middle-aged and older men.

If you or a loved one has used any of these testosterone therapies, please contact us.

Propecia/ProscarA class action against Merck Frosst Canada has been started on be-half of all Canadian men who used PROPECIA and/or PROSCAR: drugs used to treat male pattern hair loss. The lawsuit alleges that use of these drugs significantly increases the risk of developing sexual dys-function, potentially permanently.

If you or a loved one has used ei-

ther PROPECIA and/or PROSCAR and suffered from sexual dysfunc-tion, please contact us.

RisperdalRISPERDAL is an antipsychotic drug available in numerous forms--mainly used to treat schizophre-nia, bipolar disorder, and demen-tia--manufactured and marketed in Canada by Janssen Inc.

It is alleged that RISPERDAL can cause “gynecomastia” (enlarge-ment of male breasts), particularly among men who used the drug during childhood and/or adoles-cence.

If you or a loved one used RISP-ERDAL and have experienced ex-cessive weight gain and/or been diagnosed with “gynecomastia,” please contact us.

LipitorLIPITOR is a statin drug, manufac-tured and sold by Pfizer, to lower cholesterol. Several studies have linked LIPITOR, and other choles-

We have been involved in class action litigation from the beginning. The first Ontario class action was started by our own Mike Peerless. Russell Raikes was an integral player in residential school litigation across Canada and we are honoured to have William Jenkins, a former class actions judge, in our ranks.

In addition to our pharmaceutical, medical devices, and consumer product class actions such as Yasmin/Yaz, Androgel, Lipitor and Bard pelvic mesh, we are also involved in other important social justice litigation, such as: Alberta Child Welfare, Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre, Grenville Christian College, and the 2011 Manitoba Flood class actions, representing hundreds of individuals whose basic rights have been breached.

MEDICAL CLASS ACTION SUITS

BARD TRANSVAGINAL MESHTransvaginal Mesh (also re-ferred to as pelvic mesh, vagi-nal mesh, a “hammock,” or a “sling”), is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress uri-nary incontinence in women. It is associated with development of a number of side effects in-cluding mesh erosion through the vaginal wall, infection, pain, urinary problems, recurrence of prolapsed and/or incontinence, bladder perforation, vaginal scarring, pain during sexual in-tercourse, and other problems which may lead to a significant decrease in quality of life due to discomfort and pain.

There are many manufactur-ers of pelvic mesh products. A class action against Bard was commenced August 24, 2012, on behalf of women in Canada who have been implanted with these products. The claim al-leges that Bard knew or ought to have known of the injuries, conditions and complications associated with these pelvic mesh products but that it con-tinued to manufacture, market, and sell these products without adequately warning consumers, the medical community and/or regulators about these risks.

McKenzie Lake Lawyers is repre-senting women across Canada who have receive Mesh prod-ucts manufactured by Bard and are suffering side effects.

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www.mckenzielake.com tel. 519-672-5666

Vol. 1, Issue 1, Summer 2014

YASMINE/YAZYASMIN and YAZ are newer, fourth generation birth control pills, manufactured and sold in Canada by Bayer Inc.

In March 2010, a class action was launched on behalf of all Ontario women with respect to Yasmin and Yaz and the al-leged increased risk of suffering various types of blood clots and gallbladder disease, compared to other available birth control pills. The lawsuit claims Bayer Inc. knew of the increased risk and failed to warn women ad-equately or at all.

On April 15, 2013 Justice Crane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified the action as a class proceeding. Certification is the first step in a class action lawsuit; it allows the lawsuit to proceed as a group action, as opposed to having every indi-vidual bring a separate lawsuit.

On September 5, 2013, Bayer Inc. sought leave to appeal in the certification decision. Jus-tice Lococo of the Ontario Supe-rior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) denied this to them, confirming this is a proper class action. McKenzie Lake Lawyers is working closely with other lawyers across Canada in pur-suit of the litigation on behalf of all Canadian women. If you or a loved one have used either YAS-MIN and/or YAZ and suffered a blood clot or gallbladder dis-ease, please contact us.

terol-lowering statin drugs, to an increased risk of developing dia-betes, particularly in middle-aged and older women.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after using LIPITOR, please contact us.

FosamaxFOSAMAX (alendronate) is a drug, prescribed to treat or prevent bone loss. It is manufactured and marketed in Canada by Merck Frosst Canada.

A class action on behalf of all per-sons in Canada who were pre-scribed and ingested Fosamax was launched in May 2007.

The lawsuit alleges that use of FOSAMAX is associated with an increased risk of developing seri-ous bone problems such as os-teonecrosis of the jaw (known as “jaw death” or “ONJ”) and atypical femur fractures.

If you or a loved one have used

FOSAMAX and suffered an atypical fracture or ONJ, please contact us.

Chemotherapy DilutionOn April 3rd, 2013, a class action was commenced against Mezent-co Inc. (Marchese Health Care) regarding improperly mixed che-motherapy drugs supplied to cer-tain Ontario and New Brunswick hospitals.

The lawsuit claims that the pre-mixed bags prepared by Mezent-co Inc. and provided to various hospitals contained too much sa-line solution, resulting in patients receiving less than the prescribed amounts of certain chemotherapy drugs (cyclophosphamide and gemcitabine).

The error was uncovered by a pharmacy technician in Peterbor-ough, Ontario, but not until the diluted chemotherapy drugs had unwittingly been administered to over 1,200 patients.

McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP 140 Fullarton Street, Suite 1800, London, ON N6A 5P2

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Class Action News

Alberta Child Welfare Class ActionSince the mid-1960’s children in need of protection or care in Alberta have been placed in the care of the Child Welfare system. As either wards of the state or as minors subject to guardianship orders, the government has su-pervised the care of these children by placing them in a variety of domestic circumstances including receiving, group, foster, and adoptive homes.Unfortunately, after being placed “in care” some of these children suffered personal injuries at the hands of third parties. These injuries could include injuries suffered in a car, but also frequently arose as a result of abusive conduct by the children’s would-be caregivers or other people who came into contact with these minors.In 2004, this class action was launched alleging that the Government of Al-berta, as represented by the Director of Child Welfare and the Public Trust-ee, failed in its duty to seek recovery for the injuries suffered by children while in governmental care. In 2014, McKenzie Lake Lawyers was appoint-ed to represent those who were harmed while in government care and for whom appropriate compensation has not been obtained.

Grenville Christian CollegeGrenville Christian College was a residential Christian high school that operated in Brockville, Ontario, from 1973 until it closed in 2007. The school was primarily run by two headmasters, J. Alastair Haigh and Charles Farnsworth, who were the spiritual leaders at the school during their tenure. The school, following closely on the teaching of a radical Christian organization called the Community of Jesus, followed strict religious doctrines and employed rigid institutional discipline.In 2008, several former Grenville students commenced a class action lawsuit against the school and former headmasters for instituting a culture of fear and oppression at the school. These former students claimed damages for breach of fiduciary duty, assault, negligence, and the intentional infliction of mental suffering. The lawsuit alleges that the students were subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse at the hands of school officials. McKenzie Lake Lawyers is representing the former students of Grenville Christian College who assert that they were harmed both physically and psychologically as a result of their attendance and forced religious indoctrination at Grenville.

Elgin Middlesex Detention CentreThe Elgin Middlesex Deten-tion Centre (EMDC) is a pro-vincial correctional facility lo-cated in London, Ontario. The EMDC holds both sentenced offenders and remanded in-dividuals who have not been found guilty of a crime. The EMDC was constructed in the 1970’s and was originally in-tended to hold 150 inmates. Unfortunately, in recent years conditions at the EMDC have been reported as dramatical-ly overcrowded and the level of violence has risen sharply.

In 2013, McKenzie Lake Law-yers launched a class action lawsuit against the Govern-ment of Ontario, alleging that the conditions at EMDC constitute cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and therefore violate the constitutional rights of the inmates. The suit also al-leges that the conduct of the Ministry in its management of the EMDC has been neg-ligent. The Plaintiffs allege that as a result of overcrowd-ing and the negligence of the Government, a culture of fear and brutality has arisen at EMDC which endangers each and every inmate and has re-sulted in significant personal injury to many inmates.

SOCIAL JUSTICE CLASS ACTION SUITSIn addition to our pharmaceutical, medical devices, and consumer product class actions, we are also involved in important social justice litigations, such as the following class actions, representing hundreds of individuals whose basic rights have been breached.

www.mckenzielake.com

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tel. 519-672-5666

Vol. 1, Issue 1, Summer 2014

Manitoba Flood ReliefIn 2011, four First Nations in the Interlake region of Manitoba were flooded out and evacuated as a result of massive inflows of water from Lake Manitoba. In the 3 years since their evacuation, many residents of these First Nations have lost their homes and all of their personal possessions. Many evacuees continue to reside in hotels and other temporary accommodations throughout Manitoba because their homes have been destroyed and plans to repatriate them have been unsuccessful.In 2012 McKenzie Lake Lawyers with co-counsel Troniak Law commenced a lawsuit against the Government of Manitoba alleging that the provincial government negligently or purposefully caused the flooding that devastated vast tracts of land on the Pinaymootang, Lake St. Martin, Little Saskatchewan, and Dauphin River First Nations. In 2013, this lawsuit was expanded to include allegations that the Government of Canada and the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters provided negligent post-evacuation care to evacuees and caused their displacement to be extended beyond a reasonable timeframe.We represent the individual claims of those who were evacuated or who otherwise suffered a personal loss as a result of the 2011 flood. The lawsuit alleges that the flooding was caused either by negligent water management or as a result of the deliberate decision to flood the four First Nations in order to avoid flood damage in other areas.

CONSUMER PRODUCTSHyundai and Kia fuel mileage misrepresentationThe class actions against both HYUNDAI and KIA relate to restatements in advertised fuel efficiency by them on November 2nd, 2012 with re-spect to certain make and model/year vehicles.A settlement has now been reached. The settlement provides class members with the option of receiving a lump sum payment with re-spect to the restatement based on average km driven and the price of fuel in Canada. Further options include 1.5 times the lump sum amount in service credits or 2 times the lump sum amount towards the purchase of a new vehicle.You do not need to do anything at this time. If you have an affected ve-hicle, you will receive a notice, including a claim form and instructions on how to complete and submit it for compensation.For a list of affected vehicles and links to the Settlement Agreement, please visit our website: wwww.mckenzielake.com

GM: Ignition Switch, EPS Systems and Brake LampsThese lawsuits were launched on behalf of individuals who own or owned certain GM vehicles, subject to recent recalls, for defective ignition switches and electric power steering assists (“EPS”) systems.

Ignition Switch Lawsuit - Affected Vehicles

Chevrolet HHR 2006 to 2011/ Chevrolet Cobalt 2005 to 2010 / Pontiac Solstice 2006 to 2010 / Pontiac G5 2007 to 2010 / Pon-tiac Pursuit 2005 to 2006 / Sat-urn Ion 2003 to 2007 / Saturn Sky 2006 to 2010

Electric Power Steering Assist (“EPS”) - Affected Vehicles

Chevrolet Malibu 2004, 2005, 2006 , 2008, 2009 / Chevrolet Malibu Maxx 2004 to 2006 / Chevrolet Cobalt 2005 to 2010 / Chevrolet HHR 2009 to 2010 / Pontiac G5, G6 / Pontiac Pursuit 2005 to 2010 / Saturn Ion 2004 to 2007 / Saturn Aura 2008 to 2009

Brake Lamps - Affected Vehicles

Chevrolet Malibu 2004 to 2012 / Chevrolet Malibu Maxx 2004 to 2007 / Pontiac G6 2005 to 2010 / Saturn Aura 2007 to 2010

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140 Fullarton StreetSuite 1800London, ON N6A 5P2www.mckenzielake.com

E: jones@mckenzielake.comP: 519-672-5666F: 519-672-2674TF: 1-844-672-5666

Our Class Action Lawyers

Mathew BaerKevin EganWilliam JenkinsSabrina LombardiMichael PeerlessRussell RaikesMike Saelhof

Class Action News Vol. 1, Issue 1, Summer 2014