Ironic windfall for legal clinic at the University of Windsor

The Class Action Clinic has been given $3 million that went unclaimed by a recent settlement.
“I was ecstatic and relieved,” Jasminka Kalajdzic told CTV News Windsor. “Both because like so many legal clinics in the province and across the country, funding is always our number one concern.”
Kalajdzic is a law professor and director of the Class Action Clinic, which she says is the only one of its kind in all of North America.
“We help people from beginning of the class action to the end of it. And so far, we've had some really good success. We've helped class members recover over a million dollars,” says Kalajdzic.
In this case, Kalajdzic says BMO Trust agreed to a $100 million settlement over undisclosed fees on foreign transactions.
$94 million of it was given to members of the class, leaving $6 million unclaimed.
“Rather than give the money back to the defendant, they [the court] distribute that leftover fund to a non-profit or to a charity to do something with it that will be at least of indirect benefit to the class,” says Kalajdzic.
Because the Class Action Clinic is the only one of its kind, the plaintiff petitioned the court to give it half of the money, and the other $3 million went to the United Way.
“Bad for some of the class members, but we'll get to use this money now for the foreseeable future to help as many class members as possible make sure that they don't miss out on these compensation claims,” notes Kalajdzic.
The Class Action Clinic has a full-time lawyer who oversees all the work of law students, who earn academic credits for volunteering their time.
And in the summer, the clinic hires student lawyers to work full-time on the cases before the courts.
“This [award] puts us in a really good position,” says Kalajdzic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New one-and-done therapy can help curb severe COVID-19 infection: Canadian-led study
A Canadian-led study of a new potential antiviral therapy shows a single dose can help cut the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Are video games good for kids' brains or bad for them? New research suggests the answer is 'neither'
A small new study has found that neither the frequency of daily gaming reported by pre-teen children nor the specific video game genres they chose to play were linked with their performance on a standardized cognitive tests.
Canada deploys military assessment team to Turkiye after earthquake
Canada deployed a disaster assessment team to Turkey on Wednesday in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands, as the federal government faced criticism that the window to help with rescue efforts was closing.
'It was a nightmare': 2 children dead, driver charged after city bus crashes into Laval daycare
Two four-year-old children are dead and a man has been charged with first-degree murder after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The driver, 51-year-old Pierre Ny St-Amand, was arrested at the scene and faces two counts of first-degree murder and several other charges.
Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs answer in ad
Alphabet Inc. lost US$100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft.
opinion | Before you do your taxes, take note of these tax credits and deductions you may not have known about
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
Indigo payment systems, online store down after 'cybersecurity incident'
Indigo's payment systems and online store are down after a 'cybersecurity incident,' the company announced on Wednesday evening.
Netflix Canada begins password sharing crackdown
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
Tyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.