2 total
Class action certification denied; no duty of care for ETF design and s. 130 Securities Act inapplicable to secondary market.
The plaintiff sought to certify a class action against the manager of a complex, passively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) after the fund's value collapsed, causing significant losses to retail investors.
The plaintiff alleged common law negligence for designing and selling a risky product and failing to actively manage it, as well as a statutory claim under s. 130 of the Securities Act for misrepresentations.
The court dismissed the certification motion and the action, finding it plain and obvious that the pleadings disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
The court held that the negligence claim was an unprecedented attempt to recover pure economic loss for a 'shoddy' financial product, and that the statutory claim for ETF trading properly falls under the secondary market liability provisions of Part XXIII.1 (s. 138.3), not the primary market provisions of s. 130.
Motion for stay of OSC proceedings pending judicial review dismissed for lack of exceptional circumstances.
The applicant sought a stay of ongoing Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) proceedings pending an application for judicial review, alleging bias based on public comments made by the OSC Chair.
The OSC brought a cross-motion to quash the judicial review application for prematurity.
The single judge of the Divisional Court dismissed the motion to quash, holding that prematurity should be decided by the full panel.
The judge also dismissed the motion for a stay, finding no exceptional circumstances to justify departing from the general rule that tribunal proceedings should be completed before judicial review is entertained.
