Colette Koopman

The court approved a $500 million settlement in a national class action concerning a price-fixing conspiracy in the packaged bread market, resolving claims against Loblaw Companies Limited and related entities.

The settlement includes a substantial damages payment, a distribution protocol for class members, and a cooperation agreement by Loblaw to assist in ongoing litigation against non-settling defendants.

The court also approved class counsel fees and the payout to a third-party funder, finding the settlement fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class.

The decision addresses a motion by Osama Ebid and Fast to Canada for an order requiring the plaintiffs, a group of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, to post $45,000 as security for costs in a civil action regarding failed permanent residency applications.

The court reviews the legal principles for security for costs, the timing of the motion, the residence and assets of the plaintiffs, the merits of the litigation, and the interests of justice.

Despite the late timing of the motion, the court grants the order, finding the plaintiffs have no connection to Ontario and the amount sought is reasonable.

The plaintiff brought a motion for leave to commence a secondary market securities class action under Part XXIII.1 of the Securities Act against Akumin Inc., its directors and officers, and its auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, and for certification of the action under the Class Proceedings Act.

The claims arose from alleged misrepresentations in Akumin's financial statements that were later restated.

The court granted leave against the Akumin defendants, finding a reasonable possibility of success at trial regarding the alleged misrepresentations and public corrections.

However, the court denied leave against the auditor, EY, finding insufficient evidence that the auditor's statements were material or publicly corrected.

The court certified the action as a global class proceeding against the Akumin defendants, rejecting arguments to exclude American purchasers from the class.

The appellants, several local governments, appealed the dismissal of their application for declarations and injunctions against Canadian National Railway Company (CN) regarding the construction of an intermodal hub.

The appellants sought to compel CN to comply with over 65 provincial and municipal laws.

The application judge dismissed the application, finding that the majority of the claims lacked a factual foundation and were premature, and that the three specific bylaws at issue impaired the core of the federal railway undertaking under the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, confirming that the construction and operation of the intermodal hub is a vital part of a federal railway undertaking and that the municipal bylaws requiring official plan amendments impaired this core federal power.

The appeal and the application for leave to appeal costs were dismissed.

This is an appeal from a motion judge's decision dismissing the plaintiffs' motion to amend their pleadings in a class action alleging a multi-bank conspiracy to fix gold and silver prices and engage in 'spoofing'.

The motion judge had found the proposed amendments time-barred or improper for joinder.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the motion judge erred in law by treating amendments as new causes of action when they were alternative theories based on existing facts, and by misapplying the 'actual knowledge' standard for limitation periods.

The Court also found a palpable and overriding error in the motion judge's assessment of JP Morgan's joinder, concluding that the CFTC order did not preclude conspiratorial spoofing allegations.

The amendments were allowed, with the possibility for some respondents to plead a limitations defence at trial.

DGAP Investments Ltd. sought a stay pending leave to appeal an order from the supervising judge in a CCAA proceeding.

The order authorized Stelco Inc. to acquire partnership units in a Land Vehicle, which DGAP argued would obstruct its prior agreement to purchase land from the Land Vehicle.

The Court of Appeal applied the RJR-MacDonald test for a stay, finding that DGAP's case for leave to appeal was weak on the merits, there was no irreparable harm given the supervising judge's measures to protect DGAP's interests, and the balance of convenience favoured dismissing the stay to allow the CCAA proceeding to conclude and benefit aging stakeholders.

The motion for a stay was dismissed, and the leave to appeal motion was expedited.

This application concerned Thomson Reuters Corporation's proposed plan of arrangement under section 182 of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario).

The arrangement involved a return of capital of approximately USD $2.2 billion to shareholders and a proportional share consolidation, with an opt-out right for certain non-Canadian resident shareholders for tax purposes.

The Board of Directors approved the transaction, deeming it in the Company's best interests for efficient capital distribution.

Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the arrangement resolution at a meeting with high participation.

The court applied the three-part test for approving arrangements, confirming that statutory procedures were met, the application was in good faith, and the arrangement was fair and reasonable, largely evidenced by the strong shareholder approval and unanimous director support.

The final approval order was granted.

At a case management conference in a certified class proceeding against Uber, the court considered whether to schedule the plaintiffs' proposed motions to amend their statement of claim and certify an additional common issue regarding an arbitration and class action waiver clause.

The defendants had already brought a motion to amend the class action notices.

Pursuant to section 12 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, the court exercised its discretion to allow the plaintiffs' motions to be scheduled and heard together with the defendants' motion, and set a timetable for the delivery of materials and the hearing.