This is what Tim Leahy advised me by email. I am one of the litigants.
Dear Mr. Leahy
Thank you for sharing this news with me. Luckily, I am not in the affected group because I applied in 2009.
Are you going to still fight their cases in the Federal court under your proposed litigation campaign and for which please advise if you are aware of a trial/hearing date.
Tentatively, June 5th.
OR are you refunding the pre Feb. 2008 litigants their money back? because they don't have a case anymore.
There will be no refund of the fee I collected.
Many of my friends and colleagues received email from the visa office of London claiming that they have been instructed to process all bill C-50 Feb 2008-June 2010 by the end of June 2012.
I wonder how they will process all 168,000 files in the next 3 months. Do you have any knowledge about this that they will finish the backlog end June 2012.
They can't, of course, unless their quota is greatly increased. The method they are using is to refuse everyone, claiming to be to incompetent to deduce from the employment letters whether the person has been doing the duties of the job.
Some are suggesting that your litigation has triggered this insane action announced by the Immigration Minister to erase all backlog. We may be the passive beneficiaries but the Minister's actions seem unfair to those who waited for several years only to know that they are out of the queue.
My concern is if my file is processed and I get the medical request before the litigation hearing, then what will be my choices? Still asking for monetary damages from CIC or will you return monies and close the case?
Once you get your visa, your court case becomes moot. Until then, there is no decision to be made.
I will still be seeking damages and, as I said before, there will not be any money returned. The payment was for services already performed. (The fee was only for the application; no fee was included for the action for damages, for which I am to be compensated out of the damages awarded.)
Regards,
Tim