2023 QCCS 689, 2023 QCCS 689

Bourassa c. Abbot Laboratories, Limited 2023 QCCS 689 SUPERIOR COURT CANADA PROVINCE OF QUÉBEC DISTRICT OF MONTREAL No : 500-06-001004-197 DATE : March 9, 2023 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE DONALD BISSON, J.S.C. JB4644 ______________________________________________________________________ JEAN-FRANÇOIS BOURASSA Plaintiff v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES, LIMITED ET AL.

Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT (On the application for approval of the notice to class members) ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] CONSIDERING that an Application for Authorization to Institute a Class Action and to Obtain the Status of Representative was filed in the Superior Court of Quebec (the “Initial Application” ) on May 23, 2019; [ 2 ] CONSIDERING that, on December 17, 2021, Jean-François Bourassa (the “Plaintiff”) filed a Re-Amended Application dated December 17, 2021 for Authorization to Institute a Class Action for the sole purpose of being substituted as Plaintiff, which was subsequently authorized by the Court on January 17, 2022; [ 3 ] CONSIDERING that, by judgment dated August 9, 2022 [1] , the Honourable Justice Morrison of this Court approved certain settlement agreements entered into between the Plaintiff and a number of Defendants (now the “ Settled Defendants ”), and subsequently thereafter a settlement approval notice was published whereby Class Members (defined below) were informed that if they wished to opt- out of the Class Action as a whole they had to do so by September 16, 2022 (the “ Opt-Out Deadline ”); [ 4 ] CONSIDERING that, on September 30, 2022, the Plaintiff filed a de bene esse motion to modify the amended Initial Application (the “ Motion to Amend ”) and a Re-Amended Application dated September 30, 2022 for Authorization to Institute a Class Action (the Authorization Application ”) ; [ 5 ] CONSIDERING that, on November 7, 2022, the Court granted the Motion to Amend and authorize the filing of the amended Authorization Application; [ 6 ] CONSIDERING that the Authorization Application is made on behalf of the following class: All persons in Quebec who have been prescribed and consumed any one or more of the opioids manufactured, marketed, distributed and/or sold by the Defendants between 1996 and the present day (“ Class Period ”) and who suffer or have suffered from Opioid Use Disorder, according to the diagnostic criteria herein described.

The Class includes the direct heirs of any deceased persons who met the above-mentioned description. The Class excludes any person's claim, or any portion thereof, specifically in respect of the drugs OxyContin or OxyNeo, subject to the settlement agreement entered into in the court file no 200-06-000080-070. (the “ Class ” or “ Class Members ”) [ 7 ] CONSIDERING that the Plaintiff and the following Defendants have executed settlement agreements (collectively the “ Settlement Agreements ”) as follows:

a) The settlement agreement with Aralez Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (“ Aralez ”), dated November 10, 2022, filed as Exhibit R-1 (the “ Aralez Settlement Agreement ”) ;

b) The settlement agreement with Valeant Canada Limited, Valeant Canada LP and 4490142 Canada Inc., F.K.A. as Meda Valeant Pharma Canada Inc. (together “ Valeant ”), dated December 13, 2022, filed as Exhibit R-2 (the “ Valeant Settlement Agreement ”) ; and

c) The settlement agreement with Church & Dwight Canada Corp. (“ Church & Dwight ”) , dated December 22, 2022, filed as Exhibit R-3 (the “ Church & Dwight Settlement Agreement ”) [ 8 ] CONSIDERING the Application for Approval of the Notice to Class Members (the “ Notice Approval Application ”) in which the Plaintiff is asking this Court to approve a Pre-Approval Notice; [ 9 ] CONSIDERING that Aralez, Valeant and Church & Dwight (collectively, the “ Settling Defendants ”) support the Notice Approval Application; [ 10 ] CONSIDERING that the Plaintiff and the Settling Defendants agree to the modalities respecting the notification and publication of the relevant notices to the Class Members, such modalities being set out in the Aralez Settlement Agreement, the Valeant Settlement Agreement and the Church & Dwight Settlement Agreement, (collectively, the “ Notice Plan ”); [ 11 ] CONSIDERING that it would be more efficient to address all three settlements (collectively, the “ Settlement Agreements ”) in a single Pre-Approval Notice; [ 12 ] CONSIDERING the proposed French and English versions of the combined Pre-Approval Notice filed as

Schedule B to each of the Settlement Agreements; [ 13 ] CONSIDERING the submissions of the Parties; [ 14 ] CONSIDERING articles 581 and 590 of the Code of civil procedure (“ CCP ”); WHEREFORE THE COURT: [ 15 ] GRANTS the Plaintiff’s Pre-Approval Application filed on January 25, 2023; [ 16 ] ORDERS that for the purposes of this Judgment, the

definitions and other defined terms contained, respectively, in the Settlement Agreements apply and are incorporated herein by reference; [ 17 ] APPROVES the form and contents of the French and English versions of the combined Pre-Approval Notice, being

Schedule B to each of the Settlement Agreements ; [ 18 ] AUTHORIZES the notification and publication of the Pre-Approval Notice as provided for in the Notice Plan together with a copy of the Settlement Agreements in the following manner: Within ten (10) days of the date of issuance of the Pre-Approval Order, or on the date fixed by the Court in that regard, Class Counsel shall: Post the Pre-Approval Notice in both English and French on its Facebook page and Website for a period of thirty (30) days Post the Pre-Approval Notice in both English and French on the online registry of class actions offered by the Superior Court of Québec, Email the contents of the Pre-Approval Notice in both English and French to each person who has registered on Class Counsel’s Website to receive information regarding the Class Action . [ 19 ] DECLARES that Class Members who wish to object to the Court’s approval of the Settlement Agreements must do so on or before May 3, 2023; [ 20 ] DECLARES that Class Members can no longer opt out, as the Opt-Out Deadline was September 16, 2022; [ 21 ] SCHEDULES the Settlement Agreement Approval Hearing on May 8 , 2023, at 9:30 , in room 16.12 of the Montreal courthouse as well as by means of a digital hearing; [ 22 ] THE WHOLE without legal costs __________________________________ DONALD BISSON, J.S.C.

Mtre Gabrielle Gagné Mtre André Lespérance Mtre Marianne Dagenais-Lespérance Me Zoé Christmas Trudel Johnston & Lespérance Mtre Mark Meland Mtre Margaret. Siminovitch Mtre Betlehem Lala Endale Mtre Tina silverstein Fishman Flanz Meland Paquin s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for Plaintiff Mtre Michel Gagné McCarthy Tétrault s.e.n.c.r.l., s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Abbott Laboratories Ltd. Mtre Gabrielle Baracat McCarthy Tétrault s.e.n.c.r.l., s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Paladin Labs Inc. Mtre Jean-Michel Boudreau IMK S.E.N.C.R.L/IMK L.L.P. Attorneys for defendant Apotex Inc.

Mtre Douglas Mitchell IMK S.E.N.C.R.L/IMK L.L.P. Attorneys for defendant Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. and Roxane Laboratories Inc. Mtre Camille Pichette Mtre Marie Audren Mtre Marc-André Grou Audren Rolland s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Aralez Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. Mtre Joséane Chrétien McMillan S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant BGP Pharma ULC and Mylan Pharmaceuticals ULC Mtre Tania Da Silva DLA Piper (Canada) s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co Mtre Myriam Brixi Lavery, De Billy s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Church & Dwight Canada Corp.

Mtre Jessica Harding Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, S.E.N.C.R.L./s.r.l. Attorneys for defendants Joddes Limited, Pharmascience Inc., Sun Pharma Canada Inc. and Teva Canada Limited Mtre Alexandre Fallon Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, S.E.N.C.R.L./s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Sanis Health Inc Mtre Guy Poitras Gowling WLG (Canada) S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant GlaxoSmithKline Inc. Mtre Elisabeth Neelin Langlois avocats, S.E.N.C.R.L. Attorneys for defendant Hikma Labs Inc. Mtre Catherine Dubord Fernet Avocats inc.

Attorneys for defendants Laboratoire Atlas Inc., Laboratoire Riva Inc. and Laboratoire Trianon Inc. Mtre Robert Torralbo Blake, Cassels & Graydon s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Janssen Inc. Mtre Claude Marseille, Mtre Cristina Cataldo Blake, Cassels & Graydon s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Merck Frosst Canada & Co. Mtre Francis Rouleau Blake, Cassels & Graydon s.e.n.c.r.l. Attorneys for defendants Valeant Canada Limited, Valeant Canada LP and 4490142 Canada Inc. (fka Meda Valeant Pharma Canada Inc.) Mtre Noah Boudreau Fasken Martineau DuMoulin SENCRL, s.r.l.

Attorneys for defendants Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. and Sandoz Canada Inc. Mtre William McNamara, Mtre Marie-Ève Gingras Société d'Avocats Torys S.E.N.C.R.L. Attorneys for defendant Pfizer Canada ULC

Mtre Corina Manole Société d'Avocats Torys S.E.N.C.R.L. Attorneys for defendant Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc. Mtre Fadi Amine Miller Thomson SENCRL / LLP Attorneys for defendant Pro Doc Ltée Mtre Anne Merminod Borden Ladner Gervais s.e.n.c.r.l., s.r.l. Attorneys for defendant Purdue Frederick Inc. and Purdue Pharma Mtre Nathalie Guilbert For the Fonds d'aide aux actions collectives Date of hearing: March 7, 2023