Attention Zero Sum

This is what is so confusing! There are so many versions on CSAT regarding legal fees etc. The way I see it DM was upset that SISIP clawed back his LTD funds, he sought legal advice and retained a lawyer, this lawyer PD then did some research and filed a class action suit. The class was approved and by virtue there were thousands of veterans who had their LTD funds clawed back automatically became part of the class, we were given an opportunity back then to opt out but our silence meant we became part of. The lawyers then did what they were supposed to do " set out to prove that the GoC were wrong in their determination that our VAC pensions were classified as income" and therefore our LTD was reduced or in most cases eliminated. Our lawyers were successful and the GoC owned up to cease in determining our disability pensions as income. This then concluded what the legal case was all about and funds prior to the GoC saying they would not appeal the Federal Courts decision became retro. This retro " dollar amount recovered" then became the baseline to which the legal fees applied as this figure can be a proven dollar amount. The retro dollar amount was around $430 million, the original agreement between plaintiff and lawyers was 30% of the amount recovered, or approximately $130 million dollars. Our lawyers very well knew and were aware of past settlement fees and very well knew that if they stuck to what was first agreed to that 30% or $130 million would not fly so they muddied the water with a pie in the sky figure of $888 million which this number cannot be proven and in fact our lives and whether we receive CCP D will have a huge impact on. Our legal team then tried to look like great guys with attempting to tell the world that what they were seeking worked out to only 7.5% of the total amount recovered but applied to the courts for only what they knew they could do and thus the $66 million figure. In comes the GoC to now state that the fee's we are set to pay far exceed what has been established in past cases which see's us where we are today, waiting for the federal court to apply fair and equable legal fees. Now while the settlement negotiations were going on between the GoC and our legal team SISIP were ordered by the GoC to cease determining that our disability pensions were income and thus those that were determined by SISIP as totally disabled and those that were released medically after the GoC said they would not appeal the Federal Courts decision began receiving LTD. Now in this thread starts more confusion to whether "we the veteran" will owe our lawyers X% of what we have been receiving as LTD post GoC decision not to appeal. My take is that these funds are not part of the retro case, that case ended almost a year ago. Why can't our law firm come clean or the Federal Court or GoC and tell us what funds the lawyers can legally base their fees on? Thus far I have read they are entitled to base their fees on the full $888 million, have also read only on the retro and have read pretty much every dollar amount in between. There is a legal definition why can this not be told to us so that those who are in receipt of LTD funds today can stop the worrying and the added stresses placed needlessly on them? Torturing those that need not have to deal with all this added stress, when does the veteran have to cease paying "monetary" for serving their country? What is happening right now is ridiculous, here we sit, set to be paying all these legal fees and we cannot get a legal opinion of what the baseline for legal fees is. If our lawyers will not tell us perhaps the GoC can, after all they have raised the point that the legal fees being sought are 21 times the actual costs; so 21 times of what dollar amount? In the mean time the veteran that can ill afford all this confusion and added stresses which are playing havoc on their health and are left twisting in the wind. We do not need the opinion of the ("lower deck lawyers" ha ha) we need the opinion of an actual lawyer! I for one want to be one time treated fairly and with dignity, are we at least not entitled to be treated like humans and not cash cows? My fellow veterans stand fast, stand easy, the end has to be near. For Queen and Country, we stand on guard for thee!

Its called snowjob! We are paying every which way , up and down , sideways, you name it were paying!

Navrat , the law firm has never done anything for me. I joined the class action suit by finding out about it on the Verterans Affairs wesite. The law firm was hired by Dennis , I brought the law firm money by joining the law suit so they should be thankful to me not the other way around.

bigrex im thinking by now moast if not all on the first list have been reinstated.i was for months now so after that point they cannot charge fees.i sure hope they dont for the first month ore two but i do see a leagal argument where they can not a good one but it is there.the taxes dont really matter for me as sisip cannot charge tax just pay some fore you (withholding) so if the do that big tax hit for the 2013 tax year will be slightly smaller.

propat

I can honestly see this happening. The "without prejudice" only meant that you did not have to prove you were totally disabled to get this money, only that you were a zero sum client. A four star general with a maxed out pension could get these payments if his pension equaled 70% of what sisip clawed back, and a 5-10% VAC pension merely put it over the top. They said that if a Vet was not deemed totally disabled, these payments would simply be deducted from the retro money, as basically an advance, so I'm hoping most didn't spent all of it already, because it represents 1/4 of a reduced retro amount that they may be expecting if they are not reinstated. But that being said, if the current payments for non reinstated class members can be included in the calculations of the retro amounts, up until the day we receive a decision, then I'm sure SISIP and the lawyers have left themselves means to use the money for those reinstated as well in their calculations. SISIP will likely take into account the taxes that have already been paid from those monthly amounts, so not to tax the same money twice, and the lawyers are too greedy to not charge for 6 months of retro money, and it is retro money. "future money" will only happen after the decision is released. So, if only half of the zero sum members (600) get reinstated, and averaged $1000 per month for the last 6 months, that is 3.6 million in retro money, and the lawyers are not going to miss taking their cut of up to around $642000.

Without Prejudice was meant to relay the fact that SISIP was issuing and/or reinstating the monthly checks to affected members but without admitting to any legal fault or precedent! SISIP, after negotiating with MC, was in fact stating that "look, we will reinstate these checks, but we aren't taking any blame or admitting any fault, we are doing this as a temporary and cooperative gesture, that in no way brings any negativity to SISIP or permanently sets any thing in stone!" In other words, it's a temporary action, establishes zero fault and it's continuance depends and may vary IAW the final agreement between the affected parties.

As my kids would say, Without Prejudice, simply means, "you can't blame anybody Dad!"

Well Nav I can see maybe....maybe the legal fees but not I repeat not the taxes!

Why?

Well I just filed my taxes this year and oh my I had a manulife T4A which I filed. So if the lawfirm tries and I mean tries to tax me again I will take them to court for fraud or whatever the hell it's called. Then I will go after Revenue Canada for allowing MC to do it twice!

I thought the cheques since October where "Without Predjudice"

Didn't that mean that MC wasn't touching it?

What about the funds that many of us had to repay back to Sisip due to overpayment re: dva...are we getting taxed on that amount twice, are we paying contingency fees on that amounts as well. I already paid tax on that amount previously when I gave the money to sisip.
sparrow

cant see it happening nav not compleatly anyway.they may be able to charge on the ammout before you qualified for future payments although i have doubts they can do that.

propat

1993firebird, What has the law firm done for you lately?

I am zero sum and still not receiving money monthly.

Yes, I just heard something thru the legion vine and don't know if its true, and since the law firm doesn't bother answering us anymore, I thought I would ask csat where you can always get an answer! For us Zero Sums, who have started to receive monthly ltd payments, I heard once the settlement is approved Manulife will calculate your entire entitlement right up to the date it is payed[the cheque], Once they got the grand total owing to you they will subtract the payments issued since Oct 2012. but the kicker is legal fees and income tax will be calculated on the grand total which means we are paying legal fees[whatever they are] on our monthly payments we are receiving right now! Tell me if this is fair, if true, at 17 percent we are losing on a 2000 dollar ltd payment 340 dollars every month until settled!