$290 million lawsuit against Freedom Convoy could be put on hold

(LifeSiteNews) – The legal group behind the push to get a $290 million class-action lawsuit filed by disgruntled Ottawa residents against the Freedom Convoy leaders dismissed, announced it has a “significant procedural development” that could put the case “on hold.”

In a press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that during a recent case conference on January 26, Justice Calum MacLeod “agreed to hear a motion, brought by the defence, seeking a permanent stay of the proceedings because the plaintiffs failed to disclose a settlement agreement to the defendants’ legal team.”

The JCCF noted in April 2024 that Chad Eros, one of its defendants, signed a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs. The JCCF said that at the time that “Mr. Eros did not have a lawyer formally on the court record.”

“Under the agreement, once it was signed, Mr. Eros was required to provide all relevant documents in his possession to the plaintiffs’ lawyers within 60 days and take part in a private meeting with them to discuss those documents,” the JCCF noted.

“Mr. Eros also agreed to forward a settlement amount to the plaintiffs within six months, all in exchange for his release from the action. However, it is alleged that the settlement funds were never paid.”

The JCCF said that the settlement agreement was not shared with the other defense lawyers until “January 28, 2026, nearly 19 months later.”

Because of this, defense lawyers are likely going to “argue that this delay breaks a basic fairness rule: Settlement agreements like this must be disclosed to all parties right away.”

“Because that did not happen, they will argue that the entire lawsuit should be put on hold. Money never changed hands, there was in fact never any settlement agreement at all and therefore nothing to disclose,” the JCCF said.

In February 2022, Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, and others were hit with the lawsuit, which originally started at $9.8 million but then ballooned to $290 million.

The class-action lawsuit was filed by Ottawa civil servant Zexi Li on February 4, 2022, along with Geoffrey Delaney, Happy Goat Coffee Company, and a local union. It names plaintiffs who have businesses or were working in the city’s downtown core during the Freedom Convoy.  

As reported by LifeSiteNews, a court said last year that the lawsuit could proceed.

On March 6, Ontario Court of Appeals Justices David Brown, Peter Lauwers, and Steve Coroza ruled that a $290 million class-action lawsuit against some of those who organized and participated in the Freedom Convoy for creating a “public nuisance causing pain” will be allowed to proceed.  

According to the JCCF, the court has confirmed that before a class action certification can proceed, it will have to address the defendant’s recent motion.

“Fairness in the justice system depends on full and timely disclosure according to the law,” said Constitutional lawyer James Manson, who presents Freedom Convoy defendants.

“When litigants fail to meet that basic obligation, courts have both the authority and the responsibility to intervene. A permanent stay is an appropriate remedy where non-disclosure seriously undermines the ability of defendants to properly defend themselves,” he said.

In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, former Prime Minister Trudeau’s government enacted the Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022.

During the clear-out of protesters after the EA was put in place, one protester, an elderly lady, was trampled by a police horse, and one conservative female reporter was beaten by police and shot with a tear gas canister. 

As reported by LifeSiteNews, a few weeks ago, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal affirmed a ruling that Trudeau’s use of the EA in 2022 to clear the Freedom Convoy protesters against COVID mandates was illegal.