class-action lawsuit: judge expresses 'compassion' for abuse victims of greenfield park coach
suzanne courchesne says she will render her decision as soon as possible in settlement agreement that would see a total of between $3.6 million and $10.25 million paid to people sexually abused by françois lamarre.
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former montreal police officer and greenfield park minor league hockey coach françois lamarre leaves the longueuil courthouse after his arraignment on dec. 19, 2019. he died before the criminal case against him made it to trial.
dave sidaway
/
the gazette
a quebec superior court judge heard arguments for the approval of a multimillion-dollar settlement tuesday in a class-action lawsuit over a deceased greenfield park hockey coach. depending on the number of victims who come forward, the settlement would see a total of between $3.6 million and $10.25 million paid to people sexually abused by françois lamarre, who coached in the south shore community for decades.
the settlement agreement was announced in late october but needs to be approved by the courts. after hearing the case on tuesday, judge suzanne courchesne said she will render her decision as soon as possible.
“i would like to express to each and every one of you the compassion i feel for you,” courchesne said at the outset of the hearing, addressing the victims in the courtroom or following remotely. “for the harm and prejudice you have suffered and, for many of you, probably continue to suffer.”
the class action was authorized in the spring of 2021, targeting lamarre’s estate and the city of longueuil, which greenfield park merged into in 2002.
it argued lamarre, who was also a montreal police officer, abused children under his watch while coaching for the community’s municipal hockey program from the 1970s to the early 2000s.
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it also put forth that the city should be held responsible for failing to protect the children in the program and allowing lamarre’s abuse to continue for as long as it did.
lamarre was arrested in 2019 and pleaded not guilty to nine sexual assault-related charges , but he died before the criminal case could make it to trial. at the time, prosecutors had authorized additional charges tied to a dozen more alleged victims.
in court on tuesday, pierre boivin, one of the lawyers behind the suit, said although many of the victims wish lamarre would have faced a criminal trial before dying, they agree the settlement is a welcomed outcome.
“the scar will be with us forever,” says wade wilson, seen in a december 2019 file photo.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
“there was a lot of suffering done … but this is the next best thing and i think justice has prevailed,” said victim wade wilson, who attended the hearing at the longueuil courthouse.
wilson was abused by lamarre as a 12-year-old boy. fifty years later, with the pending decision on the settlement, he said he’s finally starting to feel some relief.
“the scar will be with us forever,” wilson said. “however, maybe it’s time to close the door and move on with our lives as best we can.”
the maximum amount one person could receive under the settlement has been set at $600,000, but individual compensation will be determined based on the severity of the abuse suffered. the city of longueuil will pay the vast majority of the compensation.
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the city’s lawyers said tuesday they were sensitive to how difficult the process has been for victims and stressed the agreement comes without any admission of responsibility on the city’s behalf.
before the settlement was reached, the class-action trial was scheduled to begin this fall and hear from more than 50 witnesses, including 11 alleged victims. boivin said his firm has since heard from just under 20 victims, which he feels is “only the tip of the iceberg.”
describing their reaction to the settlement before the judge, boivin read from victims’ emails sent to the firm after the agreement was reached.
they spoke of living with the burden of the assaults, struggling with guilt and the “nightmare” of having to relive what was done to them following lamarre’s arrest.
several expressed relief at no longer having to testify at a trial and described a sense of closure after so many years of uncertainty.
“i’m allowing myself to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” one wrote.
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