SEARS Hometown Class Action is CERTIFIED!

We just received the judgement from the court on our class action certification, and the judge has ruled it meets all the requirements and can proceed to trial.

Read the full ruling here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8YiZD65CzjFcHlvaFB4QVdXY0E/edit?usp=sharing

It took a while but now we are officially "on the books".

This is a real lawsuit and it has teeth.

No News On Certification Yet

We are still waiting for a decision from the court about the class action certification.

Certification Hearing

We had our certification hearing yesterday to establish the lawsuit as a valid class action.

We had a strong turnout from many dealers to show support, and our lawyers did a great job of presenting our case.

We will have to wait for the judgement, which is an unknown amount of time but most likely a week or 2.

We will post the results when we get them.

Affidavit Exhibit P

Here is one of the more interesting Exhibits provided by SEARS to support their latest affidavit.  It explains the new commission structure, and clearly shows the disparity between what SEARS will gain and what the dealers will gain.  Have a look and try to understand the numbers.

Affidavit Exhibit P

Sears Canada exec salaries doubled while thousands laid off

And the good news just keeps on coming...read the whole story here:

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/19/sears-canada-exec-salaries-doubled-while-thousands-laid-off

If the link doesn't work, here are the highlights:

MONTREAL — Top Sears Canada executives saw their salaries nearly double last year as the chain laid off thousands of workers.
The top five executives at the retail chain earned $4.8 million last year, compared with about $2.4 million a year earlier.
The information appears in a circular released in advance of the April 24 shareholders' meeting in Toronto.
Sears Canada's new CEO, Douglas Campbell, got a major raise when he was promoted from COO in September. He got a 47% pay increase, bringing his base salary to $654,000 plus a $238,000 annual bonus.
If Campbell is fired without just cause, he gets a $3-million golden handshake, which includes a $2.2-million bonus.
Vice-presidents Klaudio Leshnjani and Salim Maherali got 85% and 86% raises, respectively. Leshnjani earned $775,000 in 2013 and Maherali received $581,000, with sharp increases to their base salaries and bonuses.
The company's five-year share price increased just 30% while the S&P/TSX index grew by 82% over the same period.
Sears Canada sales fell 8.2% to $4 billion during fiscal 2013, and store sales fell 6.4%. Profits increased more than fourfold, however, to $447 million.
The drop in sales led Sears Canada to give cut 1,600 jobs across Canada in mid-January, largely in call centres. The retailer cut another 624 positions in their stores at the end of January.

SEARS Affidavit

Here is the current affidavit that we have received from SEARS pertaining to the class action lawsuit.

We welcome private comments from dealers across the country regarding the arguments and statements put forth in the document below.  Just click on the link...

SEARS Corporate Affidavit

Class Action Certification Hearing Date is Set!

The first step in a class action lawsuit is to have it certified as a legitimate class action by the courts.

We will be presenting our case on June 11, 2014 at the Milton, ON courthouse.

Any dealers or former dealers that would like to attend to show solidarity are welcome.