Alan D.J. Dick

Following a 41-day trial where the plaintiff succeeded against one defendant (Cassels) but failed against another (GMCL), the court determined the costs awards.

The plaintiff was awarded partial indemnity costs against Cassels, apportioned at 40% of fees and 50% of disbursements to reflect the divided success of the action.

GMCL sought substantial indemnity costs against the plaintiff, arguing the plaintiff made unfounded allegations of misconduct.

The court rejected this, finding the allegations were not reprehensible, and awarded GMCL partial indemnity costs, subject to a 10% reduction for duplication between its two law firms.

The plaintiff was also awarded costs for successfully defending GMCL's counterclaim.

The parties appeared on a motion to settle the terms of a judgment following a class action trial.

The court resolved three disputes between the plaintiff and the defendant law firm regarding the wording of the judgment.

The court held that the judgment should include a mechanism allowing for a potential reduction of the $45 million aggregate damages award, as the court had mistakenly assumed all 181 class members had retained the law firm.

The court also clarified that class members only needed to return a participation form or funding to create a retainer, and that this had to be done prior to the waiver of the Acceptance Threshold Condition.

A class action brought by automobile dealers challenged a manufacturer’s 2009 wind‑down agreements issued during the global financial crisis, alleging breaches of the statutory duty of fair dealing, disclosure obligations, and the right of association under franchise legislation.

The court held the manufacturer did not breach its contractual or statutory obligations in implementing the dealer reduction plan or issuing the agreements under urgent restructuring circumstances.

However, the law firm advising the dealer group was found to have breached fiduciary duties, contractual duties, and the standard of care by acting despite conflicts of interest and failing to properly advise the dealers during the restructuring process.

The court concluded that the lawyers’ misconduct deprived the dealers of a real opportunity to negotiate improved termination compensation.

Aggregate damages were therefore awarded for loss of that negotiation opportunity.