Caroline Zayid

The plaintiff brought a proposed class action against numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors regarding the marketing and sale of opioids in Canada.

The defendants moved to strike the statement of claim for failing to disclose a reasonable cause of action, and one defendant, Pro Doc Limitée, moved to dismiss the action against it for lack of jurisdiction.

The court granted Pro Doc's jurisdiction motion, finding no real and substantial connection to Ontario.

The court struck the claims against the distributor defendants without leave to amend, finding no viable cause of action.

The court found that while there were viable causes of action against the manufacturer defendants for breach of the Competition Act, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and failure to warn, the plaintiff's pleading was defective.

The court struck the claims against the manufacturer defendants with leave to amend to join representative plaintiffs for each defendant group and to comply with the rules of pleading.

The plaintiff, Dr. Darryl Gebien, sought court approval for a Third-Party Funding Agreement with Omni Bridgeway Ltd. for a proposed class action against numerous pharmaceutical companies regarding the opioid crisis.

Several defendants objected to specific provisions of the agreement, including those related to amendments, assignments, attornment, costs enforcement, termination procedures, accrued costs, and confidentiality.

The court found that while the agreement generally met the requirements for approval, several of the defendants' objections, particularly concerning comprehensive attornment by Omni Bridgeway Ltd. and the broad confidentiality provisions, were "genuinely meaningful" and required resolution.

The motion for approval was adjourned to allow the parties to address these issues, with the court emphasizing that it is not its role to draft the agreement.

The defendants in a proposed opioid class action moved to dismiss the proceeding for delay under s. 29.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

In response, the plaintiff brought a cross-motion for a nunc pro tunc timetable order and commenced parallel proceedings in Manitoba.

The parties reached a settlement wherein the competing motions were dismissed without costs, the Manitoba proceedings would be discontinued, and the Ontario action would be deemed commenced on October 2, 2020, making it subject to the amended certification test under the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, 2020.

The court approved the settlement and issued the consent orders.

The plaintiffs brought a motion, with the defendants' consent, to certify a proposed class action for settlement purposes, approve a settlement agreement, approve the plan for disseminating notices, approve the forms of the notices, and grant a privacy and disclosure order.

The class action concerned defective implantable cardioverter or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators manufactured by the defendants, which were prone to premature battery depletion.

The court found that all criteria for certification under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, were satisfied, noting that these criteria may be applied less rigorously in a settlement context.

The motion was granted, approving the certification for settlement, the settlement agreement, and related procedural orders.

The plaintiffs brought a motion seeking an interim stay and an adjournment of a scheduled certification motion in Ontario.

The purpose was to pursue certification of a national class in a parallel class proceeding in British Columbia, citing the death of lead counsel in BC and anticipated legislative changes allowing opt-out national classes there.

The court denied the motion, finding the request was a late-stage tactical shift amounting to forum shopping, inefficient, and unfair to the defendant and class members, especially given the Ontario action's advanced stage and prior agreements on scheduling.

The plaintiffs sought to certify a class action against CIBC Mortgages Inc. regarding the calculation of prepayment penalties on residential mortgages.

The plaintiffs alleged that the prepayment penalty clauses were illegal, contrary to public policy, unconscionable, and void for uncertainty, and that the defendant miscalculated the penalties by failing to apply a present value discount and using a shortened amortization period.

The court found that the pleadings did not disclose causes of action for illegality, unconscionability (as pleaded), uncertainty, or failure to apply a present value discount.

However, the court found a valid cause of action regarding the use of a shortened amortization period and certified the action as a class proceeding on that narrowed basis.

Pietro Castrillo brought a motion for leave to discontinue a proposed class proceeding against the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and for an order dismissing his action, which had been settled for $90,000 to cover legal expenses.

The class action challenged WSIB's interpretation of Policy 18-05-05 regarding Non-Economic Loss (NEL) benefit reductions for pre-existing conditions.

Following litigation, including an appeal to the Court of Appeal, the WSIB clarified its policy and initiated a review of past cases, effectively achieving the class action's primary objective.

The court approved the discontinuance, finding it appropriate given the WSIB's policy changes and the risks of continued litigation, and ordered the WSIB to pay $90,000 to Castrillo's counsel for legal costs incurred for the benefit of the proposed class.

The plaintiffs in a proposed product liability class action concerning defective cardiac defibrillators moved for approval of a third-party litigation funding agreement with Bentham IMF Capital Inc. The proposed agreement featured a novel hybrid retainer and a contingency fee structure heavily favouring the funder.

The court found that while third-party funding was necessary for access to justice, the proposed agreement was potentially champertous due to the uncapped and disproportionate reward to the funder, and it improperly interfered with the plaintiffs' litigation autonomy.

The court conditionally approved the agreement, subject to the parties amending it to make the funder's contingency fee and any termination of the agreement subject to court approval, and removing clauses that interfered with the lawyer-client relationship.

A proposed class action brought by injured workers who were denied full non-economic loss benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act on the basis of asymptomatic pre-existing conditions.

The plaintiff alleged that the denials resulted from an internal policy illegally adopted to save money.

The action was pleaded in misfeasance in public office, bad faith, and negligence.

The motion judge struck the statement of claim as disclosing no cause of action, finding the claims fell within the privative clause.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the misfeasance in public office and negligence claims were properly pleaded and not plainly barred by the privative clause.

Bad faith was found not to be a free-standing cause of action but rather an element of misfeasance in public office.

The Attorney General of Canada and the Joint Committee representing Class Members brought competing applications regarding the allocation of approximately $236 million in excess capital held in the trust fund established by the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement.

Canada argued the excess capital should be returned to it, while the Joint Committee sought to allocate the funds to increase benefits for Class Members.

The court dismissed Canada's application, finding that the excess capital allocation provision was intended to provide an opportunity to bridge compensatory gaps for Class Members.

The court approved seven of the Joint Committee's nine recommendations for allocating the funds, including increases to fixed payments and loss of services compensation, to be implemented by way of special distribution.