Case - Canada - Das v. George Weston Ltd.

Das v. George Weston Ltd.

Summary of facts

On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed due to significant structural flaws, killing and injuring hundreds of factory workers making garments for international export. Many of the victims were making clothing for Joe Fresh Apparel Canada Inc. through a subcontractor of Joe Fresh’s parent company, Loblaws. On April 22, 2015, four Bangladeshi plaintiffs filed a class action suit against Joe Fresh, Loblaws, and Loblaws’ parent company, George Weston Ltd. In total, 1,130 people were killed and 2,520 others were injured in the building collapse. Not all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were workers, but the suit was filed on behalf of all victims.

The plaintiffs argued Loblaws was responsible for workers’ safety at the factories, pointing to clauses in its supplier contracts requiring compliance with its corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards and local laws and regulations. Loblaws had hired auditing company Bureau Veritas to inspect the Rana Plaza work site in 2011 and 2012, opting both times for a “basic social audit” that would assess some workplace safety criteria but did not include an assessment of the building’s structural integrity or compliance with building codes. Loblaws’ chairman later acknowledged that “workers were exposed to unacceptable risk” in the context of these extremely limited audits.

Timeline

2018 Ontario Court of Appeal

Jurisdiction

Applicable Law

Ontario provincial law (in Canada)

Legal issues

The plaintiffs maintained their claims against Loblaws for negligence, vicarious liability and breach of fiduciary duty.

Ruling / Outcome

In December 2018, the judge dismissed the case, upholding the ruling from the Ontario Superior Court that Bangladeshi Law rather than Ontario Law applies, and ruling that the claims would fail under Bangladeshi law.

2017 Ontario Superior Court

Jurisdiction

Yes

Applicable Law

Ontario provincial law (in Canada); Bangladeshi law

Legal issues

In April 2015, the plaintiffs commenced a class action in Ontario against Loblaws for negligence, vicarious liability for the negligence of subcontracted companies, and breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiffs also alleged that the “social audit” company hired by Loblaws, Bureau Veritas, was liable for negligence.
The plaintiffs sought CAD $2 billion in damages. They brought the action not only on behalf of employees, but on behalf of all persons who were in Rana Plaza at the time of the collapse and survived, the estates of all persons who died as a result of the collapse, and the family members and dependents of those who died or were injured.

Ruling / Outcome

In July 2017, the motion judge dismissed the case, ruling that the law of Ontario did not apply, and holding instead that Bangladeshi law governed the claims. The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a reasonable cause of action against Loblaws or Bureau Veritas under Bangladeshi or Ontario law.
Bangladeshi law includes a one-year limitation on claims relating to wrongful death or personal injury, which meant most of the victims named in the class action could not seek compensation. This is in contrast to the two-year limitation which would have allowed all victims to seek compensation if the Ontario law had been applied.

Court case