Alexander T. Mulligan

The Providius defendants brought a motion to stay the action against them for abuse of process, alleging that the plaintiffs (Evertz) failed to promptly disclose all non-financial terms of a Pierringer-type settlement agreement with the Lawo defendants.

The court found that while some initial terms were disclosed, critical "business terms" that fundamentally altered the litigation landscape, such as Lawo divesting shares in Providius, Evertz gaining an option to purchase those shares, and Evertz indemnifying Lawo against potential claims from Providius, were withheld for eight months.

The court ruled that these undisclosed terms significantly changed the adversarial relationship and potential claims, constituting an abuse of process.

Consequently, the motion to stay the action against the Providius defendants was granted.

The appellant sought to certify a class proceeding alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the Canadian canned tuna market.

The motion judge dismissed the certification motion, finding a failure to plead material facts for a reasonable cause of action and an insufficient evidentiary basis for common issues.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, agreeing that the claim lacked material facts to support a Canadian conspiracy and that there was no sufficient factual basis for the proposed common issues, particularly given the distinct Canadian and U.S. tuna markets.

The court also confirmed its jurisdiction to hear the appeal, as the lower court's order effectively ended the proceeding.

This motion sought consent certification of a class action for settlement purposes and leave to discontinue certain causes of action related to defects in General Motors vehicles' ignition switches and other components.

The plaintiffs sought to certify economic loss claims while discontinuing claims for wrongful death, personal injury, and physical property damage.

The court granted the motion, finding that the discontinuance was appropriate as personal injury claimants were not prejudiced and could pursue individual claims or participate in a separate settlement scheme.

The court also found that the criteria for consent certification were met, albeit less rigorously applied in a settlement context, and approved the proposed notice program and settlement administrator.