A multi-million dollar lawsuit against the City of Saint John has taken a big step forward, with a decision by the nation's highest court.

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in favour of a class-action lawsuit by alleged victims of a former city police officer --allegations that in some cases go back half a century.

Thursday morning, Bobby Hayes was working at his children's charity, the Joshua Group, when he got word from Ottawa.

“I’m thrilled,” Hayes said.

His name is on a class-action lawsuit filed more than five years ago against the City of Saint John.

Hayes and dozens of others are alleged victims of Kenneth Estabrooks, who was a city police officer from 1953 to 1975.  

“They're children that were sexually abused, who were on the streets in this city playing with their bicycles and marbles,” Hayes said. “They were innocent little kids who were abused.”

Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application from the City of Saint John to appeal lower court rulings, which also went against the city. 

“The city has known about this for a very long time and they've known about the impact, against all the class members,” said lawyer John McKiggan. “So, our view is that the next steps shouldn't be further court proceedings. We think the next step should be for the city to sit down with us and try to find a way to resolve these claims.”

Estabrooks was convicted of sexually abusing children in 1999 and sentenced to prison. He died in 2005.

In a statement, the city says it will not comment on a case still before the courts, except to say it is preparing to return to court in November -- the next step for a lawsuit that McKiggan estimates will be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Hayes said the city should “look after these guys. Look at their lives,” he said. “What would they have become if someone would have stood up for them or give them a chance or taken this predator out of the picture?"

To date, none of the allegations against the city has been proven in court.

While the lawsuit has taken a big step toward a trial, Hayes predicts the case is unlikely to ever go to trial. He suggests the case will likely end with a settlement between the City of Saint John and the alleged victims of Estabrooks.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.