Northwood facility loses appeal in N.S. class-action lawsuit over COVID-19 deaths

Northwood has lost an appeal in a class-action lawsuit about deaths in its N.S. long-term care facility in the early days of the pandemic.

The Northwood Care Group has lost an appeal in a class-action lawsuit about the deaths of more than 50 people at a Halifax long-term care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Northwood, according to a written decision by Justice Elizabeth Van den Eynden, sought an appeal in relation to an order certifying a class proceeding in the matter. On June 23, Van den Eynden denied the appeal and ordered Northwood to pay $800 to the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia certified the class-action lawsuit last December.

According to Van den Eynden, the plaintiff Erica Surette filed an action for a proposed class of people whose next of kin tested positive for COVID-19 and died while staying at Northwood facilities between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2020.

“During this period, 53 residents died after contracting COVID-19,” Van den Eynden’s written decision reads. “The statement of claim alleges Northwood owed legal duties to the deceased residents, breached those duties and the standard of care, and caused harm and damages as a result of the deaths.”

Ray Wagner, the lawyer representing the families in the lawsuit, says they are seeking damages for the loss of their loved ones.

“They want accountability, of course. They want to know why this happened,” Wagner told CTV News. “Why didn’t it happen in other long-term care facilities? Why did it only happen in Northwood?”

Van den Eynden said Northwood’s appeal argued the Supreme Court judge erred by not applying a “two-step method” in his analysis, which they claimed impacted the certification process.

“Northwood asserts, as it did before the motions judge, that the applicable test is a two-part framework which requires a plaintiff to demonstrate there is (1) some basis in fact that the proposed common issue actually exists; and (2) some basis in fact that the proposed issues are common to each class member,” the written decision reads. “The test the judge employed was the equivalent to the second step.”

Van den Eynden ultimately ruled that Northwood did not raise a “arguable issue” in its appeal.

“In my view, the judge applied the correct legal test, and even if he had adopted the two-part test advocated by Northwood, the result would have been the same given the unchallenged findings by the judge,” the decision reads.

The allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.

CTV News contacted lawyers for Northwood but they did not respond to a request for an interview.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jesse Thomas

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