Class-action against UNB to be replaced with mass-tort lawsuit
Students’ court action was filed in 2021 against university and Dr. Manoj Bhargava over alleged sexual assaults at health centre
A class-action lawsuit against the University of New Brunswick and a psychiatrist alleging the doctor had sexually assaulted students is being discontinued, but only to launch a different kind of court action.
More than a dozen UNB students - with Morgan Wilcox as lead plaintiff - filed a lawsuit against UNB and psychiatrist Dr. Manoj Bhargava in April 2021 over the alleged misconduct.
The lawsuit contended Bhargava had touched patients inappropriately while he examined them at the UNB Student Health Centre.
The case was scheduled to go to be in court Tuesday, but it was scratched from the docket Tuesday morning, with a newly added case-management conference set for the afternoon.
However, Erika Hachey and Mike Dull, the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, issued a news release Tuesday afternoon, announcing their class-action lawsuit was being discontinued.
But that doesn’t bring the legal conflict to a close.
“This proposed class action is now being discontinued to allow these former patients to come together in a mass tort lawsuit,” the release said.
The reasons for the change in legal tactics are two-fold.
The release noted several women seeking to join the class action were unable to do so because they saw Bhargava outside of the UNB Student Health Centre.
As such, it stated, the planned mass-tort lawsuit will name external clinics as defendants.
The other reason for the change, the release said, is because a mass tort lawsuit is a more efficient legal avenue that’s expected to bring the claims to a resolution more quickly.
“We are confident that access to justice will be achieved for more people by proceeding as a mass tort lawsuit”, Dull said in the release.
Hachey, when reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, said the court proceeding set for this week was for a certification hearing - a process by which a lawsuit is tested by a court to see if it qualifies to go forward as a class action.
With a mass-tort lawsuit, such certification isn’t required, she said, which is one reason it can proceed more expediently.
The case-management conference Tuesday afternoon was essentially a conference call to advise King’s Bench Justice Terrence Morrison of the change in plans for the case, she said.
Hachey said she expects the new lawsuit will be filed later this year.
Unlike with a class action, she said, all of the defendants have to be identified when the new lawsuit is filed, so she and her co-counsel want to ensure there’s enough time for potential defendants to consider if they want to participate.
“With a mass tort, everyone is named,” Hachey said, noting that can be a sensitive hurdle for potential plaintiffs who have been sexually assaulted.
She said she’s looking to a potential motion to protect some plaintiffs’ identities in the case.
Hachey said she’s spoken with Wilcox about the shift in the case. The lawyer said Wilcox has no comment about these developments at this time.
Anyone interested in being included in the new lawsuit as a plaintiff is asked to contact Hachey at Moss Hachey Law or Dull at Valent Legal.
“Those people need to come forward,” Hachey said, noting they’ve already heard from several potential plaintiffs Tuesday afternoon.
The release noted that plaintiffs who had already signed up for the class action and want to be included in the mass tort need to contact counsel again.
“Those who were previously excluded from the class action, who were patients of Dr. Bhargava at clinics external to UNB, can now contact counsel to become part of the mass tort,” it said.
The Fredericton Independent reached out to UNB officials and Cynthia Benson, legal counsel for Bhargava, on Tuesday, but received no response.
Michael Brenton, counsel for UNB, declined to comment.
Bhargava denied all of the allegations in a statement of defence filed in 2021 in the class-action case.
UNB terminated Bhargava’s contract in late 2020 when the allegations came to light.
The New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons suspended Bhargava’s medical licence in 2020 as well and reported it had received multiple complaints about him.
The 2021 lawsuit named UNB as a defendant and sought damages from the university because it alleged the institution and its employees were negligent and failed to protect students who availed themselves of health-care services.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.