Community organizations asked to opt out of multi-million bingo lawsuit

The mayors of Windsor andTecumsehlaunched a public awareness campaign this weekend urging charitable organizations to opt out of class-action lawsuits that could leave the two communities on the hook for$70 million.

Launched by the ALS Society ofEssexCounty and Belle River District Minor Hockey Association, the lawsuits allege Windsor andTecumsehcharged excessive fees for bingolicences.

Both the ALS Society and the Community Gaming and Entertainment Group are listed as plaintiffs in the suit against Windsor. In the suit againstTecumseh, the hockey association is listed as a plaintiffalongside theEssexCounty Dancers Incorporated as well as the Community Gaming and Entertainment Group.

The groups are seeking compensation for every organization that paid licence fees for bingo and charitable gaming events dating back to 1993. Every charitable organization that paid the fees isautomatically included in the lawsuit unless they specifically opt out, according to a joint news release issued by the two mayors Saturday.

TecumsehMayor GaryMcNamararecognizes the daunting challenge of trying to kill the lawsuit.

"I believe there are many charitable organizations across our communities that really are unaware of what's happening," he said. "We want to make sure that all of the charitable organizations that have had at least one bingo since 1993 are aware of what this means."

Defining licence fees

The lawsuits claim the excessive bingo fees are actually illegal taxes and every penny charged to the organizations should be repaid.

The lawsuits, filed against each municipality by lawyers fromLernersLLP, are almost identical and will likely be seen as test cases for other cities, saidMcNamara, who is also president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

If successful, the lawsuits could redefine how local governments charge for bingolicences. Many more legal battles could be on their way in other communities, according to McNamara.

"All municipalities in Ontario that license and operate bingos and charitable organizations would be subject to this lawsuit eventually,"McNamarasaid.

Both municipalities plan to fight the lawsuits to the end.

"We believe those are not excessive taxes,"McNamarasaid. "Those are our fees that are required to administer ... the licences."

Spreading the word

Spreading the word to each organization will be a challenge, considering Windsor alone has more than 900 different groups that have paid for bingolicencesover the past 23 years.

Neither municipality can meetwiththe groups directly without someone fromLernerspresent, according toDilkens.

"But we are allowed to do a campaign like this during the opt-out period, so that's why you see [us on] radio, TV, Internet and social media really trying to draw attention to this issue," he said.

A successful lawsuit would financially affect the communities come budget time, consideringTecumsehwould be on the hook for $7 million and Windsor could end up possiblypaying back more than $60 million.

Dilkensused city council's recent decision to support a $100 million levy for a newmega-hospitalas an example of how long it takes to generate that kind of cash.

"It would have a real significant impact on the city of Windsorand its taxpayers for a long time," he said of the potential of having to pay out millions of dollars.

Response to opt-out campaign

The head of the Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation wants to remove the organization's name from the lawsuit.

The foundation board of directors plans to meet in the coming days to discuss their options. Theydiscovered just last week they were part of the lawsuit, explained executive director Ron Foster.

When they meet, Foster will likely recommend the foundationopt out.

"We don't feel that the fees overall were excessive," he said. "I think we would recommend opting out, but that is the board's decision."

Lawyers fromLernersLLP, the firm that filed the lawsuit, don't approve of the mayors asking organizations to opt out.

"I don't think it's appropriate," lawyer Peter Kryworuk told Radio-Canada.

He did not want to comment about the specifics of the lawsuit, but said it would still go ahead, even if groups opt out.