SUMMARY OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COURTS - 2019 EXCESS CAPITAL

The Joint Committee’s applications ask the Courts to allocate $193,421,000 of the 2019 Excess Capital to create four new special distribution benefits for claimants approved under the Transfused HCV Plan, Hemophiliac HCV Plan, and the HCV Late Claims Benefit Plan (the “Plans”).

The four recommendations made by the Joint Committee in these applications seek to further address concerns previously communicated to the Joint Committee and the Courts. Class members and family members continue to identify these areas as falling short of compensating for the losses and damages they have suffered.

While the 2019 Excess Capital is undoubtedly a large amount of money, the Joint Committee’s recommendations are nonetheless limited by the funds available and the competing interests of the benefits it is seeking to obtain.

If the Courts grant the relief requested by the Joint Committee, approved class members and family members who have previously received one or more of the following benefits under the Plans, or claimants who are subsequently approved to receive benefits under the Plans, will be entitled to receive these corresponding 2019 special distribution benefits.

The Joint Committee’s recommendations to the Courts and the value/cost of each are summarized below:

1. 6.8% of Fixed Payments

The Joint Committee recommends the creation of a 2019 special distribution benefit equal to 6.8% of the value of the following fixed payments (shown in 1999 dollars), indexed to the dollar value of the year in which the benefit is paid out:

• the $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $65,000 and/or $100,000 fixed disease level payments under section 4.01(1)(a),(b),(c),(d),(e) of the Plans and the corresponding 8.5% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital;
• the $50,000 fixed payment for the election made by living co-infected hemophiliacs under section 4.08(2) of the Hemophiliac HCV Plan or section 4.08(2)(Hemo) of the HCV Late Claims Benefit Plan and the corresponding 8.5% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital;
• the $50,000 fixed payment for the election made by estates of infected persons who died before January 1, 1999 under section 5.01(1) of the Plans and the corresponding 8.5% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital;
• the $120,000 fixed payment for the election made by estates and family members of infected persons who died before January 1, 1999 under section 5.01(2) of the Plans and the corresponding 8.5% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital; or
• the $72,000 fixed payment for the election made by estates and family members of co-infected persons who died before January 1, 1999 under section 5.01(4) of the Hemophiliac HCV Plan or section 5.01(4) (Hemo) of the HCV Late Claims Benefit Plan and the corresponding 8.5% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital.

If the recommended allocation for fixed payments is granted:

• infected class members who received disease level benefits would be entitled to a special distribution benefit based on their current cumulative disease level and/or any progression in disease level that may hereafter occur in the following approximate amount(s) (shown in 2020 dollars):

  Disease Level	6.8% Allocation per disease level	Cumulative Total (in 2020 dollars)
  Disease level 1	$1,097	$1,097
  Disease level 2	$2,195	$3,292
  Disease level 3	$3,292	$6,584
  Disease level 5	$7,133	$13,717
  Disease level 6	$10,974	$24,691

• class members who received one of the following fixed payment benefits would be entitled to a special distribution benefit in the following approximate amount (shown in 2020 dollars):

  Fixed Payment Type	6.8% (in 2020 dollars)
  $50,000 non-pecuniary general damages option for approved living co-infected hemophiliac class members	$5,487
  $50,000 death benefit option for approved class members whose death prior to January 1, 1999 was caused by HCV	$5,487
  $120,000 death benefit option for approved class members whose death before January 1, 1999 was caused by HCV	$13,169
  $72,000 death benefit option for approved co-infected hemophiliac class members whose death before January 1, 1999 is not proven to be caused by HCV	$7,901

The cost/value of this recommendation is approximately $54,684,000 of the 2019 Excess Capital, before administrative expenses.

2. 50% of Loss of Guidance, Care and Companionship Payments

The Joint Committee recommends the creation of a 2019 special distribution benefit equal to 50% of the value of the following loss of guidance, care and companionship payments (shown in 1999 dollars), indexed to the dollar value of the year in which it is paid out:

• the $25,000 payment to a Spouse under section 6.01(a) of the Plans;
• the $15,000 payment to a Child under age 21 at the date of death of the infected person under section 6.01(b) of the Plans;
• the $5,000 payment to a Child age 21 or over at the date of death of the infected person under section 6.01(c) of the Plans and the $4,600 special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital;
• the $5,000 payment to a Parent under section 6.01(d) of the Plans and the $4,600 special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital;
• the $5,000 payment to a Sibling under section 6.01(e) of the Plans;
• the $500 payment to a Grandparent under section 6.01(f) of the Plans; or
• the $500 payment to a Grandchild under section 6.01(g) of the Plans.

If the recommended allocation for loss of guidance, care and companionship is granted, family members who received a loss of guidance, care and companionship benefit would be entitled to a special distribution benefit in the following approximate amount (shown in 2020 dollars):

The cost/value of this recommendation is approximately $71,812,000 of the 2019 Excess Capital, before administrative expenses.

Increase Lost or Diminished Pension Benefits by 4% of Loss of Income

The Joint Committee recommends the creation of a special distribution benefit equal to 4% of the combined value of the annual loss of income payment and the corresponding 10% special distribution benefit created from the 2013 Excess Capital, capped at $200,000 per annum before 2014 and $200,000 per annum indexed thereafter to compensate for lost or diminished pension benefits.

If the recommended allocation to increase lost or diminished pension benefits is granted, based on this formula, for example:

• an infected class member receiving an annual income loss benefit of $50,000 would be entitled to a special distribution benefit of $2,000 for each year of their income loss entitlement; while
• an infected class member with an annual income loss benefit of $200,000 or more, would be entitled to a special distribution benefit of $8,000 per year of income loss entitlement.

The cost/value of this recommendation is approximately $6,653,000 of the 2019 Excess Capital, before administrative expenses.

Pay an additional $2/hr for Loss of Services incurred from and after January 1, 2014

The Joint Committee recommends the creation of a special distribution benefit of $2/hour for each compensable hour of Loss of Services under sections 4.03 and 6.01(2) of the Plans and the corresponding 2013 special distribution benefit, for the years 2014 and following, indexed to the dollar value of the year in which it is paid out

If the recommended allocation to pay an additional $2/hour for loss of services incurred from and after January 1, 2014 is granted, for example, a class member receiving the maximum 22 hours of loss of services/week in 2020 would be entitled to a special distribution benefit in the approximate amount of $3,400 for that year in 2020 dollars.

The cost/value of this recommendation is approximately $60,272,000 of the Excess Capital, before administrative expenses.

INDEXING OF PAYMENTS

In the charts and examples mentioned above, the amount class members or family members would be entitled to receive under each of the Joint Committee’s recommendations has been shown in 2020 dollars. If the Courts approve a recommendation and the amount becomes payable, the payment would be indexed up to the dollar value for the year in which the payment is made.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please note that the above is only a summary of what the Joint Committee is asking the Courts to do: the materials that the Joint Committee has filed in the Courts must be referred to for full and accurate details.

The materials filed in Québec are found here, the filed Ontario materials are here, and those filed in British Columbia are here.

HOW TO PROVIDE COMMENTS

The Joint Committee welcomes claimants’ input about these applications. You can tell us what you think by writing to us through the administrator, here.

Comments received will be provided to the Courts in future filings.

NEXT STEPS

Canada and/or the Provinces and Territories may oppose these requests for the 2019 Excess Capital to be allocated for the benefit of the class members and family members. Additionally, the Federal Government may bring its own applications asking for the 2019 Excess Capital to be paid out to Canada.

Hearing dates are not yet scheduled. How quickly they can be scheduled will depend on the positions Canada and the Provinces and Territories take on the Joint Committee’s application, whether the Federal Government brings its own applications, and the availability of the three Courts to sit at the joint hearings.

Because the Courts in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec jointly supervise the ongoing Hepatitis C Class Action settlement, all three Courts must hear the applications and must each reach substantially the same conclusions for their decisions to become effective.

UPDATES

Please monitor this page for news about progress of the Joint Committee’s applications, including any dates for court hearings.