Judge dismisses pension lawsuit by retired plumber, finding 15-year deadline had passed before claim was launched
May 23, 2025
A retired plumber who claimed he lost half his pension after being wrongfully expelled from his union has had his action dismissed, with a judge finding that the ultimate 15-year limitation period had already passed when he filed his claim.
According to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision, Johnston joined the United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada Local 46 (the Union) in 1968 and participated in the Trustees of the Plumbing and Pipefitters Workers Local 46 Pension Plan (the Plan). Johnston was expelled in from the Union 1992 after a failure to remit his dues. Soon after, he was informed that his pre-1987 pension benefits in the Plan were not vested and was sent a lump-sum payment for the vested amount, covering the period from 1987 to 1992.
Johnston rejoined the Union and the Plan in 2007. At that time, he began to question why his pension statements showed no accrued benefits for the period between 1973 (when the Plan was first established) and 1992. He claimed that he had been wrongly expelled from the Union and sought to have his reinstatement backdated to 1992 and service for pension benefits recognized back to 1973.
However, he was unsuccessful in his efforts and ultimately filed his action in 2022, following his retirement and commencement of his pension in early 2021.
The court found that Johnston’s claims were rooted in facts that arose around the time of his expulsion, and that he had enough information to bring a claim by 1994 or 1995.
In addition, there was no evidence that the Plan had engaged in the kind of wilful concealment about Johnston’s pension entitlements that would be necessary to engage a statutory exception to the ultimate 15-year limitation period. As a result, the court summarily dismissed the action.
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