Siskinds LLP and Koskie Minsky LLP announce certification of Sino-Forest class action and leave to proceed with statutory misrepresentation claim

TORONTO and LONDON, ON, Jan. 28, 2015 /CNW/ - Siskinds LLP and Koskie Minsky LLP are pleased to announce that leave was granted to commence an action under section 138.3 of the Ontario Securities Act and the claims advanced in the Sino-Forest class action have been certified by the Ontario Superior Court.

The class action alleges that Sino-Forest, certain of its directors and officers and its auditor misled investors concerning the business and accounting at the collapsed timber trader. The plaintiffs include the trustees of the Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada and the trustees of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793 Pension Plan for Operating Engineers in Ontario.

"We are very pleased to now be in a position to finally determine this case on its merits," says Jonathan Ptak, a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP, counsel to the plaintiffs. "We look forward to vigorously advancing this action and pursuing all remaining defendants."

To date, the claims in this action against the defendants Ernst & Young, Pöyry (Beijing) Consulting Company Limited, and David J. Horsley have been settled and these settlements have been approved by the Ontario Superior Court. In addition, the plaintiffs recently reached a $32.5 million settlement agreement with certain financial institutions that assisted Sino-Forest with the offerings of Sino-Forest's securities to the public, for which court approval is being sought. The recovery from the settled defendants is among the largest recoveries in a securities class action in Canada.

Koskie Minsky LLP, based in Toronto, is one of Canada's leading firms in the areas of class actions, trade union labour law, employment law, civil litigation and pension & benefits.  Its class actions team, led by Mr. Kirk Baert, has been a leader in class actions since 1992 and has prosecuted many of the leading cases in the area.

The Siskinds securities class actions team has offices in London, Toronto, Montreal and Québec City. The team, comprised of 15 lawyers admitted to practice in Ontario, Quebec, New York State, and the states of Queensland and Victoria in Australia, acts exclusively for investors. Siskinds' securities class actions team is complemented by lawyers in Siskinds' affiliate, Siskinds, Desmeules, based in Quebec City.

SOURCE Koskie Minsky LLP

Media contacts: A. Dimitri Lascaris, [phone], [email protected]; Jonathan Ptak, [phone], [email protected]

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