Class Action Commenced Against James Stephenson and Investia Financial Services Inc.
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UPDATE: MARCH 6, 2013
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The Class Action Administrator is in the process of preparing and sending out letters to Claimants about their claims and how their claims have been evaluated pursuant to the class action settlement, which is all subject to Court approval.
Click here to review the Settlement Agreement that may be referenced in the letters from the Administrator.
If you have submitted a Claim Form, please wait for your letter from the Administrator (which you will receive by April 5, 2013) before contacting us with questions about the Settlement Agreement or its impact on your claim.
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UPDATE: MARCH 5, 2013
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The deadline to submit Claim Forms has now passed.
Anyone that has submitted a Claim Form to the Class Action Administrator before the deadline should receive a letter from the Administrator by April 5, 2013.
Please wait for the letter from the Administrator rather than calling for updates.
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UPDATE: NOVEMBER 27, 2012
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We are pleased to announce that, subject to Court approval, a settlement has been reached of the Class Actions against David Karas and James Stephenson.
A motion for Court approval of the Settlement has been scheduled for June 7, 2013 in Oshawa.
Click here to review the Full Notice in order to learn more about the settlement and your options.
Click here to access the Claim Form that must be submitted by claimants to the Administrator by no later than February 28, 2013. (See FAQs for more information)
To review the Orders for Directions by the Judge in relation to this Notice and the Motion for Settlement Approval click on the links below:
- Order for Directions (French - as issued and entered)
- Order for Directions (Smith - as issued and entered)
To contact the Administrator, contact:
Crawford Class Action Services
3-505, 133 Weber St. N.
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3G9
Tel: 1-877-739-8936
Fax 1-888-842-1332
moneyconceptssettlement@crawco.ca
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UPDATE: OCTOBER 30, 2012
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The continuation of the defendants' motion to appeal our successful certification decision, which was scheduled for November 5, 2012 in Newmarket Court, has been adjourned for favourable reasons that we will soon report to you. Thank you to all members of the class who had planned to attend, but your attendance will no longer be necessary. We will be sending out a letter to all class members in the very near future with a full update on our efforts to resolve this case. Please stay tuned.
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UPDATE: JUNE 26, 2012
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In June 2012, the defendant's motion for leave to appeal the certification decision was commenced but was unfortunately not completed. The motion will be completed in November of 2012 with a decision to follow soon thereafter. Further updates will follow subsequent to the completion of the leave motion.
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UPDATE: FEBRUARY 17, 2012
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CERTIFICATION GRANTED!
On February 17, 2012, the Honourable Mr. Justice Bryan Shaughnessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified a class action in this matter. Justice Shaughnessy’s Reasons for Decision can be found here.
The class will be comprised of all clients of James Stephenson who borrowed money to invest in mutual funds or segregated funds (the "Leveraging Scheme") through Money Concepts (Barrie) and held leveraged investments at Money Concepts (Barrie) prior to the branch closing on or about March, 2010.
Official notice of Certification will soon be provided to all class members in accordance with further directions to be provided by the Court.
Further information will be posted as it becomes available.
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UPDATE: DECEMBER 15, 2011
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On December 12, 13 and 14, 2011, the Honourable Justice Shaughnessy heard extensive arguments about whether or not the class action commenced against James Stephenson and Investia Financial Services Incorporated for allegedly inappropriately advising clients to participate in a leveraged investment scheme, which resulted in clients sustaining significant financial losses, should be certified as a class action. Justice Shaughnessy reserved his decision, meaning that it will be several weeks before he releases his decision with respect to this matter. Justice Shaughnessy's decision will be available on this website once it is released. We sincerely thank all class members who were able to make it into Oshawa to attend the motion.
We encourage you to continue to monitor our website for any updates in this class action.
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The Honourable Mr. Justice Shaughnessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved the following schedule for the Class Action:
| Event | Date Required to be Completed | Status |
| The Plaintiff is to serve and file Certification Materials | April 29, 2011 |
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| The Defendants are to provide their responding Certification Materials | July 29, 2011 |
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| Best efforts to complete cross-examinations on Affidavits submitted in support of the Certification Motion | By September 30, 2011 |
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| Motion for Certification | December 12, 13 and 14, 2011 |
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On March 9, 2011, a class action claim was issued against James Stephenson, a financial advisor located in Barrie, alleging that Stephenson inappropriately advised clients to participate in a leveraged investment scheme, resulting in these clients sustaining significant financial losses. Also named as a Defendant in the claim was Investia Financial Services Inc., a company alleged to be associated with Stephenson in promoting the leveraged investment scheme.
The class action claims $2 million in special damages for each client of Stephenson that participated in the leveraged investments scheme, as well as $50 million in punitive and exemplary damages.
The class action claim was launched by retirees Bruce and Edith Smith, clients of Stephenson that participated in the leveraged investment scheme and suffered devastating financial losses.
If you would like to review the full details of the allegations made against Stephenson, see the Statement of Claim, issued March 9, 2011.
If you were a client of Stephenson who participated in the leveraged investments scheme and would like to sign up to receive information about the class action, please fill out the sign up form below.
~ Please click here if you were a client of David Karas
