Canadian Hockey League logos are shown following the CHL Top Prospects Game in Hamilton, Ont. on January 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
TORONTO – The lawyer for the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Canadian Hockey League, the country’s three major junior circuits and its teams related to disturbing allegations of sexual assault and torture suffered by teenage players says his clients are considering “their various options” after a class-action request was denied.
In a decision earlier this month, an Ontario Superior Court judge described the “horrific and despicable and unquestionably criminal actions” the former players suffered at the hands their teammates and staff during initiations.
But while Justice Paul Perell accepted the evidence, he turned down a request to certify a class-action lawsuit against the leagues and their clubs.
The plaintiffs, including former NHL player Daniel Carcillo, could still appeal the decision or launch individual lawsuits against leagues and teams.
Lawyer James Sayce told The Canadian Press in an email that regardless of the path forward “the plaintiffs will ensure that a meaningful avenue for access to justice will be created for those who were abused in major junior hockey.”
The suit originally filed in 2020 covers events in the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League going back to 1975.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2023.
