Court appoints law firm to represent Hudson’s Bay workers, retirees

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TORONTO — An Ontario judge has decided which law firm will represent employees in the Hudson’s Bay creditor protection case.

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An endorsement filed by judge Peter Osborne on Monday named Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP as representative counsel to the faltering department store’s more than 9,000 employees and 3,000 retirees.

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The decision puts an end to a battle that had broken out at the retailer’s last court hearing between law firms wanting to act on behalf of employees.

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After soliciting interest from five firms, Hudson’s Bay lawyers selected Ursel in part because it was also involved in insolvency cases for defunct retailers Sears Canada and Nordstrom Canada.

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Rival firm Koskie Minsky LP, which had expressed interest in representing Bay staff and had been retained by 420 workers, objected to how the decision was made.

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It called the company’s decision to pick Ursel without posting an open callout a “serious process problem” because it is up to the court’s discretion which firm represents workers.

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Koskie Minsky requested former associate chief justice of Ontario Douglas Cunningham be appointed to decide who should represent workers.

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Osborne agreed to have the selection process reviewed but opted to use retired judge Herman Wilton-Siegel instead to remove any potential bias.

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A report Wilton-Siegel compiled for the court shows he looked at proposals from five firms that all had “significant commercial and insolvency expertise and experience.”

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“The decision to select one proposal out of five was difficult,” Wilton-Siegel wrote.

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He evaluated each of the proposals on five criteria _ independence, requisite experience, communications with employees, cost issues and demonstrated interest in working with the monitor appointed to guide Hudson’s Bay through creditor protection.

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Several firms had conflicts, Wilton-Siegel said.

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Koskie Minsky, for example, had previously revealed it had been involved in a class action against Hudson’s Bay.

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While it may be possible to address past ties, Wilton-Siegel said it is preferable for law firms representing employees to be perceived as being free of conflicts and associations with the Bay and the monitor.

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In addition to being conflict-free, Wilton Siegel found Ursel had a “thoughtful and sophisticated understanding” of issues facing Hudson’s Bay employees and experience communicating with large groups of staff in insolvency cases.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.

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