City of Hamilton faces 23 legal claims over Red Hill crashes — on top of a $250-million class-action lawsuit
More than 20 lawsuits against Hamilton over collisions on the Red Hill Valley Parkway are waiting in the wings while a judge decides whether to green light a $250-million class-action lawsuit against the city.
But lawyers suggest resolution of many of those legal claims could wait on the results of a separate judicial inquiry into the slippery parkway mystery that is set to begin public hearings Monday.
I think everybody is waiting to see what happens (at the inquiry)," said Rob Hooper, a lead lawyer on the proposed class action that was filed after the city admitted the existence of a hidden parkway safety study in 2019. It will certainly be interesting to us to learn what the city knew, or should have known."
Council requested the judicial inquiry after city staff rediscovered a 2013 report showing poor friction on the Red Hill that was mysteriously never made public. While the report was buried, more than 200 serious crashes and four deaths happened on the parkway and a Spectator investigation revealed the rate of crashes on the Red Hill was double that of the adjoining Linc.
The bombshell admission prompted the class action against the city on behalf of anyone who drove and crashed on the east-end parkway since it opened in 2007. In theory, that could include victims of nearly 1,500 collisions.
Representative plaintiffs include family members of 2017 fatal collision victim Michael Sholer, as well as Corinne Klassen, who was injured after her vehicle spun out and crashed in 2016.
Hooper said a judge heard certification arguments in late March over whether to let the proposed class action go ahead, but a decision could still be months away.
Regardless, response documents filed by Hamilton show 20-plus additional legal actions - mostly lawsuits, but also small-claims matters - have been filed against the city related to the parkway. The city confirmed 23 collision claims are ongoing" Tuesday, but otherwise declined to comment further on matters before the court.
The Spectator could not immediately determine the total amount claimed against the city in the 23 legal actions, but it appears to be in the tens of millions of dollars. For example, online court information about 10 suits filed in 2019 or later represent close to $19 million in claims - although in many cases the city is just one named defendant among several.
Public inquiries, however, are not meant to determine civil liability or fault - a point emphasized by Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel in declining to include law firms as formal participants in the inquiry process.
But Hooper and other lawyers told The Spectator anyone with a related legal claim against the city will be watching inquiry findings and witness testimony with interest.
The revelation of more evidence and information is obviously going to help," said lawyer Robert Findlay, who is representing a client hurt in a head-on crash on the parkway a month before it received a fast-tracked repaving in 2019.
Hooper said the list of individual Red Hill lawsuits against the city include nine clients represented by his firm. If the class action is not certified, he said those clients could choose to continue individual legal battles against the city.
Lawsuits are not the only legal headache to face the city in the aftermath of the slippery parkway revelation. In 2019, the city's former top engineer was forced to testify in court about parkway safety at a trial over a $400 careless driving ticket.
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com