Lawyers in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver have filed a class action lawsuit against Saskatchewan Government Insurance.

McNally Cuming Allchurch (Calgary), Koskie Minsky (Toronto) and Klein Lyons (Vancouver and Toronto) have filed the lawsuit against the government insurer on a joint basis.

The basis of the alleged claim is that SGI retained the salvage obtained from wrecked vehicles, but did not pay the car owners the actual cash value of the vehicle, having withheld the deductible.

The suit follows a Supreme Court of Canada ruling states that car owners must be paid the actual cash value of their car, not the actual cash value less the deductible.

Bill McNally of McNally Cuming Allchurch stated that “the Supreme Court of Canada has decided that they do not want to tinker with an Ontario decision on the same issue. It means that for all intents and purposes, it’s the law of the land.” They are seeking $20 million in damages in this suit.

The three law firms have also filed similar claims against a number of private insurers across Canada.