Sienna Senior Living 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.
Thomson Rogers is advancing a class action proceeding claiming $100 million on behalf of residents of long-term care homes owned and/or operated by Sienna Senior Living Inc. (“Sienna”).
Sienna owns and/or operates 37 long-term care facilities in Ontario, including the following:
- Altamont Care Community (92 Island Road, West Hill, Ontario)
- Barnswallow Place Care Community (120 Barnswallow Drive, Elmira, Ontario)
- Bradford Valley Care Community (2656 6th Line, Bradford, Ontario)
- Bloomington Cove Care Community (13621 Ninth Line, Stouffville, Ontario)
- Camilla Care Community (2250 Hurontario Street, Mississauga, Ontario)
- Case Manor Care Community (28 Boyd P.O. Box 670, Bobcaygeon, Ontario)
- Cedarvale Lodge Care Community (121 Morton Avenue, Keswick, Ontario)
- Cheltenham Care Community (5935 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario)
- Creedan Valley Care Community (143 Mary Street, Creemore, Ontario)
- Deerwood Creek Care Community (70 Humberline Drive, Etobicoke, Ontario)
- Fieldstone Commons Care Community (1000 Ellesmere Road, Scarborough, Ontario)
- Fountain View Care Community (1800 O’Connor Drive, Toronto, Ontario)
- Fox Ridge Care Community (389 West Street, Brantford, Ontario)
- Granite Ridge Care Community (5501 Abbott Street East, Stittsville, Ontario)
- Harmony Hills Care Community (1800 O’Connor Drive, Toronto, Ontario)
- Hawthorne Woods Care Community (9257 Goreway Drive, Brampton, Ontario)
- Langstaff Square Care Community (170 Red Maple Road, Richmond Hill, Ontario)
- Madonna Care Community (1541 St. Joseph Boulevard, Orleans, Ontario)
- Maple Grove Care Community (215 Sunny Meadow Boulevard, Brampton, Ontario)
- Midland Gardens Care Community (130 Midland Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario)
- Muskoka Shores Care Community (200 Kelly Drive, Gravenhurst, Ontario)
- Norfinch Care Community (22 Norfinch Drive , North York, Ontario)
- Owen Hill Care Community (130 Owen Street, Barrie, Ontario)
- Rockcliffe Care Community (3015 Lawrence Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario)
- Secord Trails Care Community (263 Wonham Street South, Ingersoll, Ontario)
- Silverthorn Care Community (4350 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario)
- Streetsville Care Community (1742 Bristol Road West, Mississauga, Ontario)
- Spencer House (835 West Ridge Boulevard, Orillia, Ontario)
- St. George Care Community (225 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario)
- Trillium Care Community 800 (Edgar Street, Kingston, Ontario)
- Tullamore Care Community (133 Kennedy Road South, Brampton, Ontario)
- Villa Leonardo Gambin (40 Friuli Court, Woodbridge, Ontario)
- Waters Edge Care Community (401 William Street, North Bay, Ontario)
- Weston Terrace Care Community (2005 Lawrence Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario)
- Woodbridge Vista Care Community (5400 Steeles Avenue West, Woodbridge, Ontario)
- Woodhall Park Care Community (10260 Kennedy Road North, Brampton, Ontario)
- Woods Park Care Centre (110 Lillian Crescent, Barrie, Ontario)
If you or a family member resided at one of the Sienna homes listed above at any time between March 11, 2020 to present, please feel free to complete the Intake Questionnaire Form (click here) and return it to Melica Hosseini at [email protected]
For more information, please contact:
Stephen Birman at [email protected] (416-868 3137) Robert Ben at [email protected] (416-868-3168) Lucy Jackson at [email protected] (416-868-3154)