First Nations lawyer Joan Jack has won a lawsuit against Gowling WLG, the multinational firm that took over her day school survivors’ legal case and secured a $1.5 billion settlement. Manitoba Judge Shauna McCarthy found the firm breached its obligations by failing to seek Federal Court approval of fees for work Jack and other lawyers said they had done advancing the claims.

Jack filed a statement of claim for a group of day school survivors in 2009. Gowling took over the file in 2016, using work completed by Jack and other lawyers, including a database listing 12,500 potential class action members. Gowling was paid $55 million in legal fees, while Jack received nothing. The amount the firm will have to pay, if any, will be determined at a later date.

In a 46-page ruling, McCarthy said Gowling “had a contractual and fiduciary duty to present the plaintiffs’ fees to the Federal Court for approval with respect to work asserted to have been done by the plaintiffs in advancing the day school claims” and that “Gowling breached their obligations to do so.” Jack described the six-year David versus Goliath battle as “hard” and said she felt “vindicated” by the ruling.

“Every human being wants to be recognized for their contribution in life and for us as Indigenous people, so often our contributions are erased, changed, ignored,” Jack said. “And so in that space, I feel very joyful.” Gowling managing partner Lorraine Mastersmith said, “we have significant concerns with elements of the judgment and are reviewing the decision to determine our next steps.”

Nearly 200,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children attended more than 700 Indian day schools beginning in the 1920s. Many endured physical and sexual abuse at the federally run schools. Under the settlement agreement, Canada compensated each eligible survivor between $10,000 and $200,000.

Based on reporting by Global News Edmonton.