$8M CAD Wayland Group (Formerly Maricann) Securities Class Action Settlement

Securities · Canada · Claims Open

What Changed Recently?

Three things have moved since the settlement was signed on January 22, 2026, and all three matter to anyone still deciding whether to file.

The court approved the settlement on March 19, 2026. Justice E.M. Morgan heard the approval motion on March 9 and released his endorsement ten days later, approving the Settlement Agreement, the Plan of Allocation, class counsel fees and honoraria for the representative plaintiffs. His reasons record that no Class Member objected to the settlement.

The Plan of Allocation was then amended. On April 28, 2026, after class counsel wrote to the court about a potential for confusion between two paragraphs of the plan, the judge issued a supplementary endorsement rewriting paragraphs 3 and 4(iii). The amendment inserted the per-share recovery caps described below and made explicit that buckets (i) and (iii) can never recover more than bucket (ii). Counsel for the settling defendants told the court they had no submissions on the change.

Then the deadline moved. The original claims bar deadline was August 20, 2026. In August the administrator extended it to September 30, 2026, a step the Plan of Allocation permits class counsel and the administrator to take jointly where it would not disrupt the administration and is in the best interests of the Class. On September 29, 2026, it extended the deadline again, to November 30, 2026, and urged Class Members to file as early as they can so the distribution is not held up.

None of this is a finding against anyone. The settling defendants deny the allegations and deny any wrongdoing or liability, and the endorsement states that the Settlement Agreement is not an admission of liability on the part of any defendant.

What the Case Alleged

Wayland Group Corp. was a licensed Ontario cannabis producer. Until January 7, 2019 it was known as Maricann Group Inc., and its securities traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbols MARI and later WAYL, on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under 75M, and over the counter in the United States under MRRCF.

The plaintiffs in the three actions alleged that the defendants made misrepresentations, or failed to disclose a material change or material fact, concerning Wayland, its operations and its financial status between December 13, 2017 and August 2, 2019 — including in connection with the build-out of its cannabis production facility at Langton, Ontario, and in connection with its chief executive officer, Benjamin Ward. The claims were brought under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and in February 2026 the court granted leave under section 138.8(1) of Ontario's Securities Act to proceed with the statutory secondary-market claims.

Three public correction dates anchor the case and, later, the payout formula: April 23, 2019, May 6, 2019 and August 2, 2019.

These allegations were never tested at trial. The settling defendants deny them, and no court has found any of them liable.

Who Qualifies?

The Class, as certified for settlement purposes on February 4, 2026, covers all persons and entities other than Excluded Persons, wherever they may reside or be domiciled, who purchased or otherwise acquired common shares, units and warrants of Wayland Group Corp. and Maricann Group Corp. on or after December 13, 2017 and held some or all of those securities as of the close of trading on August 2, 2019.

A few points decide most eligibility questions:

• There is no residency requirement. The class definition reaches holders wherever they live, even though the actions are Ontario proceedings and payments are made in Canadian dollars.
• Warrants and units count, not just common shares. The Plan of Allocation notes that the maximum recovery on warrants may ultimately be reduced by the same percentage discount the warrants carried against the common shares on each public correction date.