Parents file $1.5M lawsuit after Quebec teacher allegedly lists students' art for sale online
Parents of Montreal-area high school students whose artwork was allegedly listed for sale online by their art teacher have officially filed a lawsuit.
Ten parents filed a complaint under the Copyright Act for $1.575 million, or $155,000 per plaintiff, from teacher Mario Perron and the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) for alleged intellectual property infringement. They are also asking for an apology and for the removal of the students' artwork from the website.
In February, students as young as 12 attending Westwood Junior High School in Saint-Lazare, Que. discovered their own drawings on multiple items listed for sale online, including t-shirts sold for $55, coffee mugs for $41, and even iPhone cases, being sold at $35 each. The story made international headlines and angry parents vowed to sue.
The documents have now been filed with the Quebec court, according to parent Joel DeBellefeuille. His brother, lawyer Martin DeBellefeuille, is representing the parents.
A bailiff is expected to serve the legal papers to the school board shortly, at which point it will have two weeks to respond.
The Lester B. Pearson School Board told CTV News on Friday that it does not comment on internal investigations of human resources issues. Last month the school board confirmed it had launched an administrative investigation into the teacher.
- With files from CTV News Montreal's Max Harrold
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
What we've learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming days, putting the landmark case on track for jury deliberations that will determine whether it ends in a mistrial, an acquittal — or the first-ever felony conviction of a former American president.
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Now 12 jurors will decide whether the 27-year-old former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death or life without parole.
'How do you get hypothermia in a prison?' Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: "unbearable" conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says without further details
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Flammable kids' sleepwear, salmonella-contaminated chips: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recalls for various items this week, including kids' bassinets, chips, and stoves. Here's what to watch out for.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.