News & Events
Parking the Uber Class Action
February 12, 2018
In Heller v. Uber Technologies Inc., 2018 ONSC 718, Perell J. stayed a proposed class action on behalf of Uber drivers due to a clause in the parties’ Service Agreement that mandated they resolve disputes by arbitration in The Netherlands. In upholding the arbitration clause, the Court followed the precedent set by the Supreme Court
Practice Area
Class Actions
Jurisdiction simpliciter: Not so simple
December 1, 2017
Airia Brands Inc. v. Air Canada, 2017 ONCA 792, is the latest class action decision to consider jurisdiction simpliciter in situations involving foreign class members. The case involved a claim of conspiracy to fix prices of air freight shipping services to and from Canada. On the matter of jurisdiction, the motion judge excluded absent foreign
Practice Area
Class Actions
Limitations Periods Under the Securities Act – the horror continues
September 15, 2017
Kaynes v. BP, P.L.C., 2017 ONSC 5172 (Kaynes) is the latest edition of a line of class actions that have faltered for violating the statutory limitations period under s.138.14 of the Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5. (the “Act“)[1] Despite its protracted procedural history, the facts in Kaynes are not complicated. The plaintiff, an Ontario
Practice Area
Class Actions
Employment Misclassification Case Certified Against Deloitte
April 27, 2017
Justice Belobaba has certified a class action against Deloitte in respect of the alleged misclassification of document reviewers. The class at issue consisted of lawyers in Toronto working as document reviewers for Deloitte, and other companies. The document reviewers were treated as independent contractors, and therefore not entitled to the same payments and benefits given
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court certifies class action and awards summary judgment at same time
January 10, 2017
In Levac v. James, 2016 ONSC 7727 the Ontario Superior Court both certified the class action, and awarded summary judgment to the plaintiffs, a procedural rarity in Ontario class action jurisprudence. Levac v. James involved an infectious outbreak among patients who received epidural injections from the defendant doctor. Toronto Public Health investigators found that the
Practice Area
Class Actions
Cracking the Door Open for Victims of Foreign Abuse: The Playbook is Written
October 19, 2016
This was a proposed representative action on behalf of refugees from the State of Eritrea alleging that the defendant Nevsun Resources Ltd., a British Columbia company, used forced labour, a form of slavery, in building an Eritrean mine. The plaintiffs brought the action under customary international law on their own behalf and as a representative
Practice Area
Class Actions
Good for Aggregate Damages
June 2, 2016
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld certification in Good v. Toronto (Police Services Board), 2016 ONCA 250 (Good). Good is a class action concerning mass detentions during the G20 Summit and protests which occurred in Toronto. The Court of Appeal made two important holdings regarding aggregate damages. The first was to reaffirm that the
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court of Appeal Affirms Certification in G20 Class Action
April 26, 2016
On April 6, 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Good v. Toronto (Police Services Board), 2016 ONCA 250, where it upheld the Divisional Court’s certification of a class action stemming from the G20 summit held in Toronto in June 2010. According to an independent review, during the G20, police encircled or
Practice Area
Class Actions
Common Issues Trial Adjourned in Newfoundland Indian Residential Schools Class Action for Further Discussions
February 26, 2016
Counsel for the parties jointly agreed today to adjourn the common issues trial to allow them to pursue further discussions. “We’ve continued to make progress since our last appearance before the court; and are moving forward in a positive way; however, we had hoped to be further along at this point”, said Kirk Baert, one
Practice Area
Class Actions
Ontario Class Action Digest, January 2016
February 8, 2016
January has been a busy month for the release of class action decisions in Ontario, highlights including: three motions concerning summary judgment, including an appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal from summary judgment on common issues (Pet Valu); two certification decisions, both granting certification; one settlement approval/fee approval motion, which was granted (Imax); and
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court of Appeal Maintains Denial of Leave in Securities Action
January 28, 2016
The most recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal on leave in securities class actions, Goldsmith v. National Bank, continues a trend of denying leave. The action had its origin in the demise of Poseidon Concepts in 2013, a publicly-traded energy services company. The defendant in the action, National Bank, was Poseidon’s financial advisor
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court Proposes “Individual Issues Litigation Plan”
November 20, 2015
On November 16, 2015, Justice Perell released his decision in Lundy v. VIA Rail Canada Inc., 2015 ONSC 7063. As indicated at the outset of the decision, “[t]his mini-sized class action is a test centre for underdeveloped but very important aspects of class action procedure under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992“. A novel aspect of
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court of Appeal Weighs in on Benefits of Case Management
August 24, 2015
In the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s latest pronouncement on the test for certification, Chief Justice Strathy re-iterated Ontario’s liberal approach to certification and focused on the benefits associated with attentive case management as class proceedings wind their way through this province’s courts. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Essex v. Windsor (City), 2015 ONCA 572
Practice Area
Class Actions
Court Denies Summary Judgment in “Private Issuers” Class Action
July 3, 2015
On June 29, 2015, Justice Perell released his decision in Mayotte v Ontario, 2015 ONSC 4196, denying what in effect were cross motions for summary judgment in this certified class action. There were “numerous genuine, novel, and profound issues for trial, and it [was] not in the interests of justice to determine this matter summarily
Practice Area
Class Actions
Federal Court Certifies Day Student Class Action
June 10, 2015
On June 3, one day after the release of the Executive Summary from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the Federal Court certified a class action concerning day students of Indian Residential Schools [Chief Shane Gottfreidson et al. v. HMQ, 2015 FC 706]. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement[IRSSA] did not cover students of Residential
Practice Area
Class Actions