Extendicare Lawsuit
UPDATES
ONTARIO COURT CERTIFIES SEVEN CLASS ACTIONS AGAINST LONG-TERM CARE OWNERS AND OPERATORS FOR ALLEGED GROSS NEGLIGENCE
Toronto, October 6, 2025 - The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has certified seven class actions on behalf of thousands of residents and visitors in Ontario long-term care homes who contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic.
The lawsuits allege that the operators of these long-term care homes were grossly negligent in terms of their preparation for a pandemic and in failing to take the necessary steps to protect their residents and visitors. The certified class actions include residents of more than 200 long-term care homes owned and managed by Chartwell, Extendicare, Responsive Group, Revera, Schlegel Villages, Sienna Senior Living, and their affiliates, along with the City of Toronto.
In the certification decision, Justice E.M. Morgan noted that “the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of tragedy in Ontario’s LTC homes.” Over 4,000 residents died, with approximately half of those deaths taking place during the first wave of the pandemic. The decision notes that long-term care homes accounted for “some 80% of Canada’s COVID-19 fatalities during the first wave.”
The lawsuits seek to hold the defendants accountable for alleged gross negligence in their preparation for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic in their LTC homes. The Court determined that legislation enacted in 2020 by the provincial government to shield businesses from liability for COVID-19 transmission does not apply to gross negligence and does not bar these lawsuits.
The defendants deny these allegations, and the Court has not yet ruled on the merits of the class actions.
The Court did not certify two other proposed class proceedings against Ontario municipalities and several independently owned and operated homes, but noted that the Plaintiffs could discontinue those actions without costs, and could commence new standalone actions against those Defendants. The Plaintiffs have since certified the action against the City of Toronto, on consent.
If you are a resident, visitor, or family member of someone who contracted COVID-19 at one of the LTC homes included in the certified class actions, your rights might be affected by these lawsuits. If you wish to remain in one of the actions, you do not need to take any further action at this time, but if you wish to exclude yourself from the lawsuit, you will need to opt out by delivering an Opt-Out Form through the online portal submission on www.LTCClassActions.com or by mail to the Notice Administrator, P.O Box 3355, London, Ontario, Canada (N6A 4K3) by November 27, 2025. Instructions for opting out can be found at the Ontario LTC Homes Class Action website.
If you are a resident, visitor, or family member of someone at one of the LTC homes in the lawsuits that were NOT certified as class actions, and you believe you may have a claim, you must take steps to protect your rights. You can contact a lawyer, including Class Counsel, if you wish to take action against the specific operator of the LTC home that you or your family member resided in or visited.
Additional information about these lawsuits, including which LTC homes are included or excluded, can be found at the Ontario LTC Homes Class Actions website: www.LTCClassActions.com.
Please feel free to review the following documents:
Notice of Discontinuance – Independent (English)
Notice of Discontinuance – Independent (French)
Notice of Discontinuance – Municipal (English)
Notice of Discontinuance – Municipal (French)
Long Form Notice (English)
Long Form Notice (French)
Opt-Out Form (English)
Opt-Out Form (French)
March 13, 2024: Ontario Court Certifies Multiple Class Proceedings Against Long-Term Care Owners And Operators For Gross Negligence.
October 10, 2023: The Honourable Justice E. Morgan will hear the Certification Motion hearings for the long term care class actions starting on January 15, 2024. The hearing will proceed over three weeks (and will not be heard in multiple phases).
Following the completion of the hearing, the Court will release a decision on certification of the class proceeding.
Once we have the decision of the Court, we will post a further update.
May 2, 2023: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Certification Motion hearings have been rescheduled and a new Case Management Judge has been assigned to the actions involving the various long term care corporations in Ontario.
The Certification Motion hearings will proceed in three phases. The first phase will be heard on January 15, 2024, with the second and third phases to be heard thereafter. We will provide further details regarding the hearings once available.
Following the completion of the hearings, the Court will release a decision on certification of the class proceeding.
Once we have the decision of the Court, we will post a further update.
UPDATE: The Court has now scheduled the Certification Motion Hearings for the actions involving the various long term care corporations in Ontario.
These hearings have been split into 3 phases. The first phase is set for the week of January 9, 2023, the second for the week of February 27, 2023, and the third for the week of April 11, 2023. We will provide further details regarding the hearings once available.
Following the completion of the hearings, the Court will release a decision on certification of the class proceeding.
Once we have the decision of the Court, we will post a further update.
The law firms of Thomson Rogers and Will Davidson LLP are working together to continue to advance a class action proceeding claiming $200 million on behalf of residents of long-term care homes owned and/or operated and/or managed by Extendicare (Canada) Inc. (“Extendicare”).
Extendicare owns and/or operates and/or manages 71 long term care facilities in Ontario, including Tendercare Living Centre in Scarborough, Ontario.
The class action includes all residents of long-term care facilities in Ontario which are owned and/or operated and/or managed by Extendicare, including Tendercare Living Centre (“Tendercare”) in Scarborough, Ontario.
As of January 11th, 2021, 73 residents have died at Tendercare as a result of COVID-19. The tragic number of deaths at Tendercare now exceeds the number of deaths at Orchard Villa in Pickering, Ontario. These are the 2 most severely impacted homes in the province by way of the number of fatalities. Both homes are managed and operated by Extendicare.
One of the victims is Ping Qiu who is survived by her 3 children, 3 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Ms. Qiu’s grandson, Reed Zhao, is seeking answers on behalf of his family to questions that were not answered by Tendercare.
“I believe my family deserves to know what happened to my grandmother. We were not provided with information regarding her condition. We have many questions as to why Tendercare was not prepared for the second wave and why Tendercare was not able to protect my grandmother.”
Tien Ngan Luu was another resident at Tendercare who tragically passed away on December 27, 2020 after contracting COVID-19. Ms. Luu leaves behind her brother, sister and 14 nieces and nephews, including Kienmy Tran. Ms. Luu’s family is haunted by the suffering and what they believe to be a lack of basic care provided to the residents at Tendercare.
“We are seeking answers to understand the events that transpired leading up to her death, accountability and justice for her and countless others who have died due to the neglect, lack of direction and preparation by management.”
A Ministry inspection was completed at Tendercare on December 16, 2020. The inspection report found that infection control practices and the availability of PPE at Tendercare were inconsistent and that as a result, COVID-19 “spread rapidly throughout the home” resulting in widespread infection and death.
A few months later, the owners of Orchard Villa, Southbridge Healthcare Inc., announced that they had hired Extendicare, who they described as a “recognized leader in quality clinically based services,” to work at Orchard Villa.
Extendicare continued to pay dividends to their shareholders in 2020 during the pandemic consistent with the amounts in earlier years.
NDP Federal Leader, Jagmeet Singh was quoted on June 20, 2020 commenting on Extendicare:
“This company didn’t just earn profit, but had enough profit where they gave dividends of $10 million.”
“They were able to pay back dividends to shareholders of $10 million, meaning that they’re spending that much less on their care of their residents,” Singh said.
“They’re spending that much less on staffing, and equipment, and supplies during COVID-19.”
Thomson Rogers and Will Davidson LLP confirm,
“The tragedy at Tendercare has resulted in an unspeakable number of deaths. The Ministry of Long-Term Care findings that Extendicare still does not have consistent infection control practices and PPE are astounding. We have been in contact with dozens of families from Tendercare and other Extendicare homes and they deserve answers.”
For more information, please complete and submit this intake questionnaire or contact:
Will Davidson LLP
Gary Will at [email protected] (905-815-5802)
Michael Reid at [email protected] (905-337-9748)
Thomson Rogers
Stephen Birman at [email protected] (416-868 3137)
Robert Ben at [email protected] (416-868-3168)
Lucy Jackson at [email protected] (416-868-3154)