FAQ
1. What is the criteria to become a member of this Class Action?
a) You are a child, youth, a parent, grandparent or guardian who has been or is currently being denied access to justice in the Family Law system and the Child Protection system in British Columbia, Canada, and
b) You are a parent, grandparent or guardian who lost most or all of your financial equity through court applications, legal representation, court expert opinions, and family maintenance payments, and/or
c) You are a child or youth who lost your property and belongings during or following a proceeding in the family law court in British Columbia, and
d) You are a parent, grandparent or guardian who lost custody of your child or children following you reporting their disclosures of molestation, sexual abuse, harm or neglect, and
e) You are a parent, grandparent or guardian who lost meaningful access with your child or children following you reporting disclosures by your child of sexual abuse, harm or neglect, and
f) You are a parent, grandparent or guardian who has suffered physical, emotional and/or mental distress/trauma as a result of losing custody or meaningful access to your child or children
g) You are a parent, grandparent, guardian, youth or child who has had to seek extensive counselling to cope with post-traumatic stress and/or complex trauma as a direct result of the adversarial family law system; and
h) You are a child or a youth who was given into the custody of an abusive parent following your disclosures of sexual abuse, harm and/or neglect, and as a result, you have suffered physical, emotional and mental trauma;
i) You are a child or youth who was prevented or is being prevented from spending meaningful time with your other parent, grandparent, guardians or siblings, against your wishes, and
j) You are a parent, grandparent or guardian who lost a child or young adult to suicide as a direct result of the trauma suffered through the adversarial law system.
k) You are a child or young adult who lost a parent, grandparent, guardian or sibling to suicide as a direct result of the trauma suffered through the adversarial law system.
2. Can I join this lawsuit if I am involved in my own court proceedings in family court?
Please register and an independent judge or judicial council will decide, based upon the facts of your case, whether you are eligible.
3. How can I join the lawsuit?
This is a self-registering class action. This means that to join you only need to fill out the Claimant Form found on this website, to the best of your ability.
4. Has the lawsuit been certified?
We intend to file the application for certification in June 2017. Please submit your Statement by April 28, 2017.
5. What does certification mean?
The certification stage is the first of many important steps in a class action. This is at the point where the judge determines whether there is cause of action, (meaning a legal reason for the lawsuit), and whether this case should be pursued as a class action.
6. How long will the lawsuit take?
Class action lawsuits are often long and difficult processes and this case is only beginning.
7. Is there any money currently available to claimants?
No, there is no monetary compensation available to claimants at this time.
8. Is this proposed Class Action available to all citizens and residents of British Columbia, Canada?
Yes, as long as you fit the criteria mentioned above, you can apply, even if you live outside of British Columbia, or even if you live outside of Canada.
9. Will I be contacted personally for any future updates?
Unfortunately, due to the number of claimants involved, it is not possible to contact each individual personally. We recommend that you submit a valid email address at the time of registration, as group emails are sent to claimants periodically to keep them apprised of the status of the case.
We also recommend that you regularly check this website for updates, or that you check the Facebook group for regular updates.
10. Can I apply on behalf of my siblings or parents?
Yes you can apply on behalf of others, so long as you have their consent to do so. Please make sure that you have their correct information, and that a separate Claimant Form is filled out per person.
11. I do not have all of my documents. Can I still apply?
Yes, even if you do not have all (or any) documentation in your possession, we still encourage you to apply as long as you fit the criteria.
If, at a later stage, any documents are required, we will contact you.