Proposed Settlement Reached in HVAC Equipment Lease Class Action against Ontario Energy Group and Home Trust Company

LONDON, ON, June 14, 2021 /CNW/ - A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Ontario Energy Group and Home Trust Company (collectively the "Defendants"). The class action relates to lease/rental and maintenance agreements for household equipment (like furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, and filters), entered into in Ontario between May 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, which are alleged to have failed to comply with legal requirements under Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002. The action sought damages and other remedies for class members.

Ontario Energy Group is a company that entered into lease agreements with Ontario consumers for the installation, rental, and servicing of HVAC equipment. Home Trust Company is alleged to have purchased an interest in the lease agreements, collected money from class members under the lease agreements, and to have registered "liens" against consumers' homes.

Pursuant to the proposed settlement, the Defendants have agreed to pay CAD $14,950,000 (the "Settlement Funds") for the benefit of class members in addition to other specified relief including debt management and the cancellation and forgiveness of certain agreements entirely in exceptional circumstances. Ontario Energy Group has also agreed to implement various contractual changes to its consumer agreements on a go-forward basis. The settlement, which was negotiated over more than two years with the assistance of the retired Chief Justice of Ontario acting as a neutral mediator, is not an admission by the Defendants of liability, fault, or wrongdoing, but is a compromise of disputed claims. The settlement must be approved by the Court before it becomes effective.

The plan for distributing the Settlement Funds to class members must also be approved by the Court before payments can be made.

Full copies of the Settlement Agreement and the proposed plan for distributing Settlement Funds are posted for review at https://www.foremancompany.com/ontario-energy-group. Class members have the right to submit comments or objections for consideration by the Court. The deadline for providing those comments to Class Counsel is September 13, 2021.

If you are a class member who wants to be included in the class action, you do not need to do anything.

If you do not want to be included in this class action, you must "opt-out" by September 13, 2021.

For more detailed information, class members are encouraged to visit https://www.foremancompany.com/ontario-energy-group. 

Foreman & Company represents class members in this case. Based in London, Ontario, Foreman & Company has more than 20 years' experience in class action litigation and expertise in a full range of class action matters.

SOURCE Foreman & Company Professional Corporation

Media contact: Foreman & Company, Jonathan Foreman, [email protected]