Chanèle Rioux-McCormick

Four organizations brought motions for leave to intervene in an appeal concerning the certification of a class action against the Province of Ontario and 49 Children's Aid Societies regarding the use of 'Birth Alerts'.

The appeal engages the continued application of the Ragoonanan principle, which requires a representative plaintiff to have a cause of action against each defendant.

The motion judge granted leave to intervene to the Class Action Clinic and Women of Class, and granted leave on limited issues to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, finding their perspectives would be useful to the court.

The moving parties, Syngenta Canada Inc. and Syngenta AG, brought a motion for leave to appeal a prior decision.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal.

As agreed by the parties, costs of $4,000 were awarded to the responding party.

This certified class action concerns economic losses allegedly sustained by corn growers due to the premature commercialization of genetically modified corn seed (Agrisure/Viptera/Duracade) by the defendants, Syngenta Canada Inc. and Syngenta AG.

The plaintiff alleges that Syngenta released the product into the North American market without obtaining import approval from China, leading to rejected shipments, a glut in domestic supply, and depressed corn prices.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment, arguing they owed no duty of care to the class.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it premature due to the absence of documentary and oral discovery, and concluding that there was a genuine issue requiring a trial regarding the existence of a duty of care, particularly concerning industry warnings to Syngenta and the interconnectedness of the corn market.

This decision addresses two motions: the plaintiff's motion for a stay of a proposed class action against Apple Canada Inc. pending an appeal in an unrelated case (Lewis v. Uber Canada Inc. et al.), and Apple's scheduling motion for summary judgment to be heard before certification.

The plaintiff's class action alleges Apple overcharged consumers on sales tax in its trade-in program, contrary to the Excise Tax Act and other statutes.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's stay motion, finding no certainty the Lewis appeal would resolve the jurisdictional issue, and that a stay is inappropriate merely because a similar legal issue is being decided in an unrelated case.

The court granted Apple's scheduling motion, affirming the strong presumption under s. 4.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, that merits-based motions should be heard before certification, especially when they could dispose of the entire case.

Costs were awarded to Apple.

This motion sought court approval for a class action settlement concerning systemic abuse at Grenville Christian College.

The plaintiffs requested approval of the $10.875 million settlement agreement, Class Counsel's fees of $3,122,187.50, payment of the Class Proceedings Fund's levy, and honoraria for the five representative plaintiffs.

The court approved the settlement and Class Counsel's fees, finding them fair and reasonable given the significant litigation risks, particularly the erratic and limited insurance coverage available to the judgment-proof defendants.

However, the court denied the request for honoraria, emphasizing that such awards should be rare and exceptional, despite acknowledging the representative plaintiffs' valuable contributions.