Fly Jamaica Flight OJ256

Update – December 2023

A settlement of the proposed class action has been reached. By entering into this settlement the Defendants have not admitted liability – the settlement is a negotiated compromise of the parties’ positions.

Under the terms of the Settlement the Defendants will pay a settlement fund totaling up to $5,550,000.00, which includes all damages to be paid to the Class, legal fees, interest and taxes. In exchange, the Defendants will receive a full and final release from the Class for the claims made against it relating to the plane crash.

Before the Settlement is Final, the Settlement has to be approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The court hearing to decide if the Settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of the Class, and if it should therefore be approved, is scheduled for January 10, 2024 and will be heard by videoconference.

At the same time as the hearing for approval of the Settlement Agreement, the Plaintiffs’ lawyers will ask the Court to approve their legal fees and expenses to be paid from the Settlement Fund.

Update – October 4, 2019:

We are pleased to report that on September 19th, 2019, Justice Morgan approved the Plaintiffs’ motion to have this action certified as a class action. Specifically, the classes are defined as follows:

Passenger Class –

Refers to passengers who were aboard Flight OJ256 except for the following persons excluded from this class: (i) as against all the Defendants: on-duty employees of Fly Jamaica Airways Ltd. including the pilots in command, co-pilots and flight attendants; and (ii) as against Fly Jamaica Airways Ltd.: passengers whose claims against Fly Jamaica Airways Ltd. and the Flight Crew and Cabin Crew are not subject to jurisdiction before the Courts of Canada under the Carriage by Air Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-26, as amended; and (iii) passengers who opt out of the class proceeding

Family Claimant Class –

Refers to the spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, brothers and sisters of a Passenger Class member who are entitled to claim damages pursuant to Section 61 of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, as amended and, or section 2(5) and Schedule II of the Carriage by Air Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-26, as amended. Relatives of a Passenger Class member who has chosen to opt out of the class proceeding are excluded from this class.

If you are a Class Member you do not need to do anything at this point to get the benefit of any ruling on the certified common issues. The next steps for this class action involve class counsel obtaining detailed information from class members and their families regarding their claims.

If you do not wish to participate, you must formally opt out of this class action on or before the deadline of January 6, 2020. For more information, please see the documents below or contact Jon Sloan at 1-866-881-2292 ext. 299 or [email protected].

Notice of Certification

Opt Out Form

Decision of Justice Morgan, September 19, 2019

Certification Order, September 19, 2019

TORONTO, NOV. 30, 2018 /CNW/ – On November 30, 2018, the Toronto law firm of Rochon Genova LLP filed a Class Action on behalf of passengers and their families who have been harmed as a result of the crash of Fly Jamaica Flight OJ256 in the early morning hours of November 9, 2018.

The Fly Jamaica Boeing 757-23N aircraft was scheduled to depart from the Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan International Airport Timehri, Guyana on November 9, 2018 at 01:30 with its destination being the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto. After a delay of approximately 40 minutes due to a technical issue with its front door, the aircraft took off. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight the pilot announced to the passengers that he was encountering an unspecified “hydraulic problem” and would have to turn back. When the aircraft did touch down, the flight crew was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway, crashed through a perimeter fence and went over a sand berm, ripping off its right side landing-gear and engine. Passengers reported a chaotic evacuation from the darkened smoke filled aircraft.

There were 120 passengers, including 2 infants, and 8 crew members on board.

According to the Guyana Minister of Public Infrastructure in his report to the Guyana National Assembly, the Flight Crew did not declare an emergency with air traffic control prior to landing. As a result, emergency crash fire and rescue vehicles and personnel were delayed in their arrival at the crash scene, and passengers had to make their way back to the air terminal on their own.

Due to the severity of this crash landing and the ensuing emergency evacuation, passengers suffered many injuries and lost valuable belongings. One woman died after the crash.

This class action seeks just compensation to passengers and their families who have been harmed as a result of this dreadful accident.

Four passengers, Invor Bedessee, Shanta Persaud, Harpreet Singh and Zakran Ally, all residents of the GTA, are proposed representative plaintiffs in this class action.

“A timely and fair resolution of this case is of critical importance to the victims and their families. Only a focused approach to this litigation, having regard to precisely what went wrong can achieve this result” said Joel Rochon, Managing Partner of Rochon Genova LLP. He and his team have extensive experience in both aviation and class action litigation, representing passengers and also air carriers, manufacturers and airports for more than 20 years.

Rochon Genova LLP

Rochon Genova has a dedicated class actions group which has been described by the Court as among the “elite class action firms” in Canada. RG’s Class Actions group is comprised of seven lawyers practicing class action litigation full time, with a further 9 colleagues who assist on various class actions matters depending on subject matter.

RG has been lead or co-lead counsel in some of the most important class actions resolutions in Canada. RG is also unique in that, in addition to its class actions expertise, it has considerable subject matter aviation expertise, having represented aviation accident survivors, and the families of aviation accident victims for more than 20 years.

For Further Information

If you would like additional information, please contact Doug Worndl at [email protected] or visit our website at www.rochongenova.com