The shock expressed by Mark Brennan, owner of Brennan Pontiac-Buick, came back to mind today as the Ontario Superior Court certified a $750 million class-action lawsuit on behalf of more than 200 former GM dealers who lost their franchises in 2009. “Judicial economy will be promoted by the aggregation of the claims of the class avoiding multiple trials and potential duplication of fact-finding,” Justice G.R. Strathy wrote in the decision, dated Tuesday, March 2, 2011. At the time, Brennan told dismayed customers that the decision had come as shock. He said Brennan’s was an unfortunate victim of GM’s decision. He offered empathy to those who lost a place to shop for a car and all those who used Brennan as a service centre. The lawsuit is being led by Trillium Motor World of Scarborough. David Sterns, one of the lawyers for Trillium Motor said the decision gives the dealers a chance to mount a recovery. “The elimination of the dealers was a man-made disaster for hundreds of family-owned businesses forced to pay the price for GM’s financial problems,” Sterns said in a statement.
