James Sayce^*

James’s practice focuses on class proceedings. James has a particular focus on matters seeking damages against government defendants pursuant to section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. James also prosecutes class proceedings in a number of other areas, including product liability, institutional negligence, competition, consumer protection and securities matters.

James is lead counsel in Brazeau v Canada, where he obtained a $20,000,000 aggregate damages award for a class of seriously mentally ill prisoners pursuant to section 24(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This was the first Canadian class action where the court ordered aggregate damages for Charter breaches, the first Canadian institutional abuse class action to proceed to a judicial determination on its merits,  and the first Canadian solitary confinement class action.

Justice Perell commented in his reasons that “the judgment will bring access to justice to approximately 2,000 current and former prisoners who suffer from serious mental illness and who were placed in administrative segregation, which I found to be a type of solitary confinement”. He further held that James brought an “extraordinary high-risk action to a very substantial and significant outcome” and that “Class Counsel more than earned their fee.”

A sampling of James’s recent cases include:

• Trial counsel to the class in an Indian residential school common issues trial in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Obtained a $50 million settlement after presenting the plaintiffs’ case over 4 months (Anderson v. Canada);
• Counsel to the class in a claim regarding systemic failures at a psychiatric facility. Obtained a $17 million settlement, which is the largest settlement in New Brunswick history (Tidd. v. New Brunswick);
• Counsel in the first certified Canadian class action concerning systemic police racism (Nasogaluak v. Canada);
• Counsel to prisoners who were subjected to lengthy periods of solitary confinement in the Federal and Provincial correctional systems (Brazeau v. Canada, Reddock v. Canada, Francis v. Ontario, Gamblin v. Manitoba, Cragg v. British Columbia and JK/CS v. Ontario);
• Counsel to purchasers and lessees of Volkswagen vehicles in the ‘dieselgate’ matter, leading to historic settlements worth over $2.5 billion (Quenneville v. Volkswagen, Quenneville v. Bosch);
• Counsel to purchasers and lessees of Mercedes “Bluetec” vehicles, obtained a settlement worth $750 million;
• Counsel to survivors of abuse at a boarding school for the blind; (Seed. v. Ontario);
• Counsel to purchasers of smartphones in an illegal scheme to breach international patent trade agreements (Barroqueiro v Qualcomm Incorporated); and,
• Counsel to survivors of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in Canadian major junior hockey (Carcillo v. CHL).

James regularly contributes to national media including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CBC Television and Radio, among others. He presents regularly at the Advocate’s Society, Ontario Bar Association, Barreau du Quebec, and Continuing Legal Education British Columbia and at various law schools on the subject of class proceedings.

James was listed in the Benchmark Litigation “40 and under hot list” and is now ranked as a “Litigation Star”. He is recognized by Chambers and Partners and Lexpert for his expertise in the area of class actions.

*practising through a Professional Corporation