Adam Tanel

The representative plaintiff sought approval of a proposed settlement in a class action proceeding under the Class Proceedings Act.

The settlement involved claims that the defendant charged duplicative non-sufficient funds fees on pre-authorized debit transactions without proper disclosure.

The court approved a settlement fund of $7,050,000, with each of approximately 172,000 class members receiving an estimated $25 after deductions for counsel fees, taxes, disbursements, and funder's levy.

The court also approved class counsel fees and an honorarium of $5,000 to the representative plaintiff.

The plaintiff sought certification of a class proceeding against the defendant bank, alleging the improper charging of duplicative non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debit transactions.

The defendant consented to the certification.

The court, applying the five criteria under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, found that the pleadings disclosed a cause of action, there was an identifiable class, common issues were raised, a class proceeding was the preferable procedure, and the representative plaintiff was adequate.

Consequently, the action was certified as a class proceeding.

The plaintiff sought to certify a class proceeding against the defendant bank, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment due to the bank's practice of charging duplicative non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debits.

The motion for certification was brought with the defendant's consent.

The court applied the five-part test under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, finding that the pleadings disclosed a cause of action, there was an identifiable class, common issues were raised, a class proceeding was the preferable procedure, and the representative plaintiff was adequate.

The court granted the certification order.

This class action concerned historical sexual abuse perpetrated by Ralph Rowe, an Anglican priest and Scout leader, against Indigenous boys in remote communities.

The court approved a $13.25 million settlement, which included a unique trauma-informed claims process with two tracks (simplified Schedule A up to $140,000, and more rigorous Schedule B up to $350,000).

The settlement also provided for apologies from the Anglican Church of Canada and Scouts Canada, and funding for counselling.

The court found the settlement fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class members, emphasizing the benefits of timely resolution and the innovative, claimant-centric claims protocol.

The Superior Court of Justice approved identical third-party funding agreements in four related class actions against major Canadian banks.

The actions allege that the banks charged duplicative non-sufficient funds fees on single dishonoured pre-authorized debits.

The court, applying Section 33.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, found the agreements to be fair and reasonable, noting the staged success fee was comparable to or more advantageous than the Class Proceedings Fund levy.

The court confirmed the agreements preserved plaintiff control over litigation, ensured the funder's financial capacity for adverse costs, and included appropriate confidentiality and deemed undertaking provisions.

The defendants took no position on the motions.

The plaintiff, Tyler Dufault, moved for court approval of a class action settlement against The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Canada Trust Company concerning the practice of charging multiple non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debits.

The proposed settlement included an all-inclusive payment of $15.9 million, direct distribution of funds to eligible class members, and non-monetary changes to the defendants' NSF fee disclosure and reversal policies.

The court approved the settlement, finding it fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, noting the high take-up rate due to direct distribution and the significant non-monetary benefits.

The court also approved class counsel's fees and disbursements, third-party funder fees, and a $10,000 honorarium for the representative plaintiff.

The plaintiff, Robyn Ramanauskas, brought a consent motion to certify a class proceeding against the Bank of Montreal.

The action alleged that the bank charged duplicative non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debit transactions, constituting breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

The court found that all criteria under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met, including disclosure of a cause of action, an identifiable class, common issues, preferable procedure, and an adequate representative plaintiff.

The motion for certification was granted.

The plaintiff brought a motion to certify a class action against the defendants, alleging that their glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The court analyzed the five certification criteria under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

While the court struck the proposed causes of action for battery and unjust enrichment, it found that the pleadings disclosed a valid cause of action in negligence and failure to warn.

The court approved the proposed class definition, certified several common issues including general causation and punitive damages, and concluded that a class proceeding was the preferable procedure.

The action was certified as a class proceeding.

The plaintiff brought a proposed class action against numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors regarding the marketing and sale of opioids in Canada.

The defendants moved to strike the statement of claim for failing to disclose a reasonable cause of action, and one defendant, Pro Doc Limitée, moved to dismiss the action against it for lack of jurisdiction.

The court granted Pro Doc's jurisdiction motion, finding no real and substantial connection to Ontario.

The court struck the claims against the distributor defendants without leave to amend, finding no viable cause of action.

The court found that while there were viable causes of action against the manufacturer defendants for breach of the Competition Act, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and failure to warn, the plaintiff's pleading was defective.

The court struck the claims against the manufacturer defendants with leave to amend to join representative plaintiffs for each defendant group and to comply with the rules of pleading.

The plaintiff, Dr. Darryl Gebien, sought court approval for a Third-Party Funding Agreement with Omni Bridgeway Ltd. for a proposed class action against numerous pharmaceutical companies regarding the opioid crisis.

Several defendants objected to specific provisions of the agreement, including those related to amendments, assignments, attornment, costs enforcement, termination procedures, accrued costs, and confidentiality.

The court found that while the agreement generally met the requirements for approval, several of the defendants' objections, particularly concerning comprehensive attornment by Omni Bridgeway Ltd. and the broad confidentiality provisions, were "genuinely meaningful" and required resolution.

The motion for approval was adjourned to allow the parties to address these issues, with the court emphasizing that it is not its role to draft the agreement.

The plaintiff brought a motion on consent to certify a class proceeding against the defendant bank regarding its practice of charging multiple non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debit transactions.

The court reviewed the five-part test under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

Finding that the pleadings disclosed a cause of action in breach of contract and unjust enrichment, and that the other criteria including an identifiable class and common issues were met, the court granted the consent certification order.

The defendants in a proposed opioid class action moved to dismiss the proceeding for delay under s. 29.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

In response, the plaintiff brought a cross-motion for a nunc pro tunc timetable order and commenced parallel proceedings in Manitoba.

The parties reached a settlement wherein the competing motions were dismissed without costs, the Manitoba proceedings would be discontinued, and the Ontario action would be deemed commenced on October 2, 2020, making it subject to the amended certification test under the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, 2020.

The court approved the settlement and issued the consent orders.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank sought summary judgment to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that it improperly charged a second Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fee for a single rejected payment that was subsequently re-presented by a third-party payee (PayPal).

The plaintiff argued that the bank's standard consumer banking agreement did not disclose this second fee, constituting a breach of contract, a contravention of consumer protection law, and unjust enrichment.

The court found that the NSF provision in the agreement unambiguously applied only to payments initiated by the customer, not to re-presentments by third parties.

The bank's argument that federal "Network Rules" mandated the second fee or informed the agreement's interpretation was rejected, as these rules were not known to consumers and did not address NSF fees.

Consequently, the bank's motion for summary judgment was dismissed, allowing the class action to proceed to certification.

In a proposed class action arising from a data breach of Marriott's hotel reservation database, the parties stated a question of law under Rule 21(1)(a) as to whether the plaintiff pleaded a legally viable cause of action for intrusion on seclusion.

The plaintiff argued that Marriott, by allegedly obtaining data under false pretenses and failing to protect it, was a 'constructive intruder'.

The court rejected this argument, following binding precedent that the tort of intrusion on seclusion applies only to actual intruders, not to defendants who fail to prevent a third-party hack.

The court concluded the Statement of Claim did not disclose a cause of action for intrusion on seclusion against Marriott.

The defendants in a proposed class action regarding NSF fees brought a motion under s. 4.1 of the amended Class Proceedings Act to have their summary judgment motion heard before the plaintiff's certification motion.

The court interpreted the new s. 4.1, finding it creates a presumption that pre-certification motions which may dispose of or narrow the proceeding should be heard first, unless there is a good reason to hear them together.

Finding that the defendants' summary judgment motion raised genuinely arguable issues and was not a delay tactic, the court granted the sequencing motion.

The plaintiff sought court approval of a $12 million settlement in a class action alleging systemic negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by the provincial government resulting in physical and sexual abuse at the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI).

Despite objections from some class members regarding the lack of a direct apology and the adequacy of compensation, the court approved the settlement, finding it fell within the zone of reasonableness established in similar institutional abuse class actions.

The court also approved class counsel's legal fees of $2.75 million and honoraria for the representative plaintiffs.

This proposed class action, alleging human rights abuses in chocolate manufacturing, was commenced in Ontario.

The plaintiff also initiated a similar lawsuit in British Columbia.

The defendant, Hershey Canada Inc., brought a motion for an anti-suit injunction to stay the B.C. action.

Concurrently, the plaintiff sought the court's permission under section 29 of the Class Proceedings Act to discontinue the Ontario action, citing funding difficulties and B.C.'s no-costs jurisdiction.

The court, acting as case management judge, determined that both the anti-suit injunction motion and the discontinuance motion should be heard on the same day to address the issue of where the class action should proceed.

The decision outlines the scheduling for these motions, with the anti-suit injunction to be heard first.

Two competing consortiums of class counsel brought a carriage motion to determine who would represent the proposed class in a national class action against Marriott regarding a massive data breach.

The court evaluated the standard carriage factors, finding most to be neutral.

The determinative factor was the interrelationship of class actions in multiple jurisdictions.

The court favoured the Winder Action because its counsel did not concede the necessity of overlapping regional class actions and was prepared to use multi-jurisdictional protocols to resolve the overlapping claims, whereas the Kogut Action consortium planned to run multiple overlapping actions across Canada.

Carriage was granted to the Winder Action and the competing actions were stayed.