An Ontario Court of Appeal judge has rejected ex-NHL player Daniel Carcillo’s bid to establish a class-action suit against the Canadian Hockey League, its three major junior leagues, and affiliated teams concerning disturbing claims of sexual assault and abuse of teenage players. The lawsuit, initiated in 2020 with Carcillo, Garrett Taylor, and Stephen Quirk as the primary plaintiffs, pertains to incidents within the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League dating back to 1975.
Chief Justice Michael H. Tulloch, in his ruling on Monday, commended the plaintiffs’ goals but deemed the proposed case as exceptionally extensive and intricate. Tulloch upheld a prior decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell, who in February 2023 determined that managing a lawsuit involving 78 defendants across 13 jurisdictions, numerous potential third-party claims, and diverse allegations spanning nearly five decades would be overwhelming.
Perell’s 103-page verdict referenced sworn accounts from unidentified players detailing their experiences, some as young as 15 at the time. One player, identified as FF, disclosed being subjected to assault involving a hockey stick during a rookie initiation—a trauma echoed by another player.
The player expressed, “I have carried the trauma of my ordeal. Sharing my story has been immensely challenging, but I am doing so to prevent other children from enduring what I went through.”
Perell’s ruling highlighted instances where players were subjected to various forms of abuse, including torture, confinement, hazing, stripping, drugging, physical and sexual assaults, rape, and forced assaults on teammates. While acknowledging the former players’ testimonies and lauding the main plaintiffs as “true heroes,” Perell observed that a viable plan for pursuing the case as a class action was lacking.
In the appeal, Tulloch emphasized that without a proposal for a more focused class action during the certification phase, the plaintiffs could not substantially alter their case now. He indicated in the 35-page judgment that the dismissal does not preclude the potential certification of more restricted class actions in the future, targeting individual teams, leagues, or smaller groups.