The representative plaintiffs in two certified class proceedings regarding allegedly defective implantable defibrillators appealed orders of the motion judge.
The motion judge had ordered the bifurcation of discovery and trial of common issues relating to the quantification of compensation for waiver of tort from the liability issues.
In one of the actions, the motion judge also refused to certify punitive damages as a common issue.
The Divisional Court dismissed the appeals, finding no error in principle in the motion judge's exercise of discretion to bifurcate the proceedings to ensure a fair and expeditious determination.
The Court also upheld the refusal to certify punitive damages as a common issue, agreeing that entitlement to punitive damages could not be rationally determined without first determining individual issues of causation and compensatory damages.
