SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Bell Mobility Inc. has agreed to a $1 million settlement with James Anderson and his son Samuel Anderson who brought a class action lawsuit against the company for charging a monthly fee for 9-1-1 when the service wasn't available for its customers.

James Anderson launched a class action lawsuit with his son Samuel Anderson over 9-1-1 fees Bell Mobility had charged on cellphone bills even though the service is unavailable. The company has agreed to a settlement payout of more than $1 million. - NNSL file photo

"It feels good to have some closure," James Anderson said, adding, however, that the attempt to get Bell to return the improperly charged fee took a long time and lot of money, which may dissuade others from attempting to redress similar injustices in the future.

"Perhaps it sends a message to other people who wish to right an injustice to decline from taking the path that I chose," he said.

Anderson said it was the right thing to do and they had a good legal team.

"It's been a long battle," said Keith Landy, one of the lawyers for the Anderson's case, Friday about the settlement. "I think we're pleased that we reached a resolution."

He said his only regret is that the telecommunications giant didn't see fit to settle the case sooner. The Andersons launched their suit in 2007.

The agreement will see Bell pay out $1,016,336.57, including interest. Part of that, no more than 40 per cent, will cover the legal costs of the case.

More than 20,000 customers in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and parts of Yukon were charged a monthly 75 cent fee on their bills for several years.

That, a judge wrote in a NWT Court of Appeals decision last year, was like providing a starving person a photograph of a turkey dinner and then charging him or her for a turkey dinner.

Bell had lost at each stage of the process and had attempted to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. Last summer, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case which upheld lower court rulings against Bell.

Landy said the sides had been working on the terms of the settlement over the past month.

The settlement must still be approved by the NWT Supreme Court, set for June 6. Lawsuit class members - the subscribers charged the fee - are able to attend to object to the terms of the settlement.

The expectation is that the settlement will be approved, Landy said.

The payout will be based on how much each customer was charged. For a year, a person was charged $9, so the amount a customer would receive wouldn't be large.

The payout will be either through a credit on their bill - if they are still a Bell customer - or a refund cheque to their last known address.

People who don't claim money within six months of the settlement will have their share given to Stanton Territorial Health Authority, specifically for mental health care.

The issue of 9-1-1 availability in the territory resurfaced this year after it fell off the new government's list of priorities and a person attempting to report a fire had to drive about a kilometre to the fire hall to do so after attempting to call 9-1-1.

The GNWT has said the estimated $616,100 start-up cost - including establishment of a dispatch centre - isn't in the upcoming budget. The annual cost would be about $266,200 once a 90 cent fee is implemented on phone bills.

Samuel Marr, one of the lawyers on the Anderson's case, told Yellowknifer in December that they would be open to a settlement that provided funding for the establishment of 9-1-1 service in the territory.

That's not part of the settlement agreement reached, however.

"It was something we floated as an idea," said Landy, adding Bell's lawyers would have to speak to why it was rejected.

Caroline Audet, a spokesperson for Bell, stated in an e-mail the company reached a fair and reasonable agreement.

People seeking emergency services in the territory must call a three-digit prefix such as 920 followed by 1111 for RCMP or 2222 for fire and ambulance.

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