A proposed $3-million settlement has been reached against several former “directors and officers” at Laurentian University for the “alleged misuse and depletion” of the university’s retiree health benefit funds, leading to their cancellation during Laurentian’s insolvency.
The directors and officers in question include several former presidents and senior administrators at Laurentian, including several who weren’t even around during Laurentian’s 2021-2022 insolvency restructuring, as well as some former board of governors members.
The former Laurentian presidents named include Robert Haché (2019-2022), Dominic Giroux (2009-2017) and Judith Woodsworth (2002-2008), along with former interim president Pierre Zundel (2017-2019), and former senior administrators Carol McCaulay and Lorella Hayes.
Also included are former board members Floyd Laughren, Michael Atkins (the former owner of Northern Life and Sudbury.com, who died in 2024), Jennifer Witty, Claude Lacroix (who notably chaired LU’s board when it declared insolvency), Ian Wood and John Pollesel.
Details of the proposed settlement are currently available to view on the websites for unions representing Laurentian’s faculty and staff.
“The proposed settlement provides for a payment of $3 million by the insurer, the Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE), in full and final resolution of the D&O [Directors & Officers] Claim, subject to Court approval on December 17, 2025,” said information on the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) website.
Deducted from the $3 million settlement will be $300,000 in legal fees for the counsel representing the Laurentian unions, according to a FAQ on LUFA’s website.
Affected faculty association members have been invited to review the settlement at a Nov. 15 meeting, while affected members of the Laurentian University Staff Union (LUSU) are having a similar meeting on Nov. 25.
Although the unions are holding meetings, members eligible for payouts will receive them whether or not they participate.
Sudbury.com reached out to both LUFA and LUSU on the matter. We have not yet heard back from LUFA, but LUSU president Tom Fenske said he can’t speak to us until he presents to his members.
We also reached out to Laurentian University, and communications staff said that “Laurentian University does not wish to provide an interview or comment on this legal matter.”
Because Laurentian did not establish a separate trust account for its Retiree Health Benefit Plan (RHBP) contributions, money paid into the fund by LU was “recorded as a liability” when the university declared insolvency.
The RHBP was terminated April 30, 2021 as part of Laurentian’s restructuring.
But Laurentian University is covered by an insurance policy for claims made against its directors and officers, a liability insurance often referred to as D&O.
A claim was made on behalf of Laurentian employees under LU’s insolvency process against the insurance policy.
LUSU and LUFA “engaged in extensive prelitigation negotiations with respect to the D&O claims” following the 2022 implementation of LU’s post-insolvency plan of arrangement, said a legal document on LUFA’s website.
“The settlement agreement is a compromise of disputed claims,” said the document. “The Defendants do not admit any wrongdoing or liability. If the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) approves the settlement agreement, the Settlement Class’s D&O claims against the Defendants will be extinguished.”
If the settlement is approved by the court, the funds will be distributed to the current and former Laurentian employees on a prorated basis within 60 days of final court approval “according to each Settlement Class Member’s respective RHBP contributions,” said the document.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.