Fanshawe College Sued for $10,000,000 in Proposed Class Action

TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - A proposed class action has been launched in the Superior Court of Justice naming Ontario's Fanshawe College and its Board of Governors.

The claim seeks more than $10,000,000 in damages on behalf of hundreds of students enrolled in the College's Paralegal Program since 2020. The claim includes past, current and international students. It alleges widespread negligence, extensive negligent misrepresentations and breaches of Ontario's Consumer Protection Act.

This is a national issue that governments and the public have been raising for some time.

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It appears the College has repeatedly failed to meet the requirements of the Law Society Ontario ("LSO") leaving students unprepared for licensing examinations and legal practice. The claim details amongst issues numerous failures to report major changes to the Program, make annual declarations, follow academic and field placement requirements, meet minimum instructional hours, meet faculty qualification requirements and failing to teach, properly or at all, the more than 300 required competencies. Even after an audit in 2018 by the LSO identified many of these inadequacies, the College and its Board failed to address them.

"As students we were told the Instructors were properly qualified. We were told they held Masters certifications. It has turned out these were "on-line courses" of a few weeks. We were told they had experience. It has turned out, for example, they had only recently graduated themselves and their main experience was teaching yoga" said Isabel Koestner, one of the proposed representative plaintiffs. "We were also told more than 75% of graduates were working within 6 months. Through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) it appears the real number has been as low as 4%", said Tony Trus, another proposed representative plaintiff.

"Given how vulnerable they are, the claim also raises particular concerns regarding the treatment of international students by Fanshawe College. This is a national issue that governments and the public have been raising for some time. Our clients believe it is time to address it. Fanshawe College unfortunately appears to be a prime example of students not being treated fairly" said Eric Gillespie, counsel for the proposed class.

The claim will now move forward towards certification.

SOURCE Eric K. Gillespie Professional Corporation

For further information please contact Isabel Koestner, Tony Trus or Eric Gillespie at 416-436-7473 (text/phone) or at [email protected].