The Calgary Board of Education has finalized compensation for former students who were abused by two teachers at John Ware School, with payouts ranging from $24,000 to $422,000, according to court proceedings on Wednesday.
Settlement Details Approved
Lawyer David Corrigan informed Justice Michele Hollins that eight distinct victim groups had been identified for payment under the class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that teachers Fred Henry Archer and the late Michael Gregory engaged in abuse of students between 1988 and 1994.
Corrigan stated that an electronic version of the settlement amounts would be sent to the Calgary Court of King's Bench judge's office for signature, as Hollins was appearing remotely from Medicine Hat.
Compensation Breakdown
A total of 54 former students across the eight groups will receive payments totaling $10,707,500 in the coming days as part of the settlement reached with the Calgary Board of Education. A 55th student, who applied to join the class action on time but failed to complete subsequent steps, has been granted until May 26 to finalize their claim for $24,000.
“We’ve taken all the steps to finalize this matter,” Corrigan said.
Twelve of the class members will receive the maximum payment of $422,000.
Background of the Case
The original class-action lawsuit alleged that both Archer and Gregory, who taught at John Ware School, were involved in the abuse of students. The case included three named plaintiffs, each representing separate subclasses of victims: those alleging sexual and physical assault by Archer, physical abuse by Gregory, and sexual abuse by Gregory, who died by suicide days after criminal charges were filed against him.
In November, the Calgary Board of Education apologized for the hardship experienced by the victims and the impact of that harm.
Corrigan noted that lawyers have deducted some of the approved legal fees to ensure plaintiffs are fully compensated.
