Brian Shell

The plaintiffs, members of a local union, brought a motion to amend the style of cause in their action against their international and local unions, which were unincorporated associations.

The plaintiffs sought to exclude themselves from the defendant class, arguing that a litigant cannot be both a plaintiff and a defendant in the same action.

The court granted the motion, allowing the plaintiffs to file an amended statement of claim with the proposed style of cause, which explicitly excluded the plaintiffs from the defendant class, and formally appointed the union presidents as representative defendants nunc pro tunc.

The appellant, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (International), appealed the dismissal of a motion to strike an action brought by four rank-and-file members of the International's Toronto-based affiliate, Local 113.

The members sought a declaration that certain provisions of the International's Constitution were void for unconscionability, arguing these provisions prevented disaffiliation.

The motion judge dismissed the motion to strike but granted a temporary stay pending exhaustion of the International's constitutional amendment process.

The Court of Appeal upheld both the dismissal of the motion to strike and the temporary stay, finding the action presented arguable issues of unconscionability and that the court had jurisdiction to determine the matter.