The judge found the plaintiffs' failure to immediately disclose settlement agreements with three defendants constituted an abuse of process.
Legacy Christian Academy shares the same building as Mile Two Church, which is located in Saskatoon's Lawson Heights neighbourhood. On June 3, 2025, Saskatoon Court of King's Bench Justice Rochelle Wempe dismissed a $25 million class action lawsuit against the church and school due to a failure to immediately disclose settlement agreements. Photo by Michelle Berg /Saskatoon StarPhoenix A Saskatoon Court of Kings Bench judge has stayed a $25 million class action lawsuit alleging sexual and physical abuse at a private Christian school and its adjoining church over a legal rule regarding the obligation to immediately disclose settlement agreements.
A statement of claim filed in August 2022 alleged Legacy Christian Academy (formerly Christian Centre Academy) and its parent organization, Mile Two Church (formerly Saskatoon Christian Centre) perpetrated and abetted decades of systemic abuse against students and minors through spanking, fondling and other graphic abuse.
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The claim initially named 22 defendants. The suit was amended later that year to 24. No statements of defence have been filed.
The remaining defendants comprised of former teachers, administrators and the Government of Saskatchewan argued the plaintiffs failure to immediately disclose settlement agreements with three defendants in 2023 and 2024 constituted an abuse of process.
Seventeen defendants were listed in Justice Rochelle Wempes June 3 decision, along with John Does and Jane Does. The representative plaintiffs are listed as Caitlin Erickson, Jennifer Soucy (Beaudry) and Stefanie Hutchinson.
Caitlin Erickson and lawyer Grant Scharfstein outside Saskatoon Court of Kings Bench on Aug. 9, 2022.
Photo by Matt Smith
/Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The decision states that the plaintiffs entered into settlements with Stephanie Case on Nov. 6, 2023, Fran Thevenot on Feb. 5, 2024 and Tracey Johnson on Feb. 21, 2024.
The plaintiffs provided copies of the agreements to lawyers for Mile Two Church on April 8, 2024. Wempe noted that repeated requests for documents had been made starting in March 2024 after Mile Two lawyers learned that the claims had been discontinued.
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The Case settlement was provided five months after it was signed, and the Thevenot and Johnson settlement agreements were provided almost two months after they were signed, Wempe wrote.
She said the terms of the agreements stated that the settling defendants would provide testimony, affidavits and not take any formal adversarial position against the plaintiffs.
This changed the adversarial landscape of the litigation by causing settling defendants to switch sides, Wempe concluded.
The plaintiffs, represented by Scharfstein Law, argued that it would be unfair and unjust to dismiss the lawsuit because theres no case law clearly stating that the immediate disclosure rule applies in Saskatchewan.
While I have some sympathy for this argument, I note that there is significant case law from three provinces dating back to 2009 which has clearly set out the immediate disclosure rule in civil proceedings, Wempe ruled.
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The question is whether another remedy short of a stay could sufficiently address the abuse of process and restore fairness between parties. In the circumstances, there is nothing short of a stay which could achieve this.
A notice of appeal was filed with Saskatchewans highest court on Monday. The grounds of appeal allege that Wempe erred in determining that the immediate disclosure rule applies in Saskatchewan, that it changed the litigation landscape and that the legal test for an abuse of process could be met without a finding of prejudice.
It also alleges that Wempe erred by determining that she was required to follow extra-provincial jurisprudence that is not binding on the Court and that a stay of proceedings was the only available remedy.
The effect of the decision is to deny the entire plaintiff class of students who are claiming abuse at the school their day in court. Their access to justice has been denied. We strongly believe that the appeal will be successful, and this matter will then continue to wind its way through the courts to a just conclusion, lawyer Grant Scharfstein said.
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