Edward M. Morgan

The plaintiffs brought a motion for leave to proceed under s. 138.3 of the Ontario Securities Act, certification of a class action under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and default judgment against a defendant CEO of a cannabis company who failed to plead or appear despite extensive service efforts.

The defendant had been the subject of Mareva injunctions for moving assets internationally.

The court found the certification criteria were satisfied, granted leave under the OSA, and entered default judgment in the amount of $53,616,189 based on uncontroverted expert evidence of class-wide primary and secondary market damages arising from misrepresentations in public filings about the company's cannabis production facility.

The defendant brought a motion under s. 29.1(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 to dismiss a proposed national employment class action for delay.

The plaintiffs commenced the action in 2018 seeking pay in lieu of notice and outstanding vacation pay on behalf of the defendant's employees across multiple provinces.

The plaintiffs failed to take any of the required steps toward certification by the October 1, 2021 deadline.

Although the parties engaged in settlement discussions from 2018 to January 2025, no settlement agreement was concluded due to an impasse over the distribution protocol.

The court found no meeting of the minds and rejected the plaintiffs' estoppel argument.

The action was dismissed for delay.

The plaintiffs in a certified class action arising from a fatal high-rise fire sought court approval for the form and method of dissemination of the proposed Notice of Settlement under section 29 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The court found the proposed notices provided adequate information to class members regarding the terms of the proposed settlement, the procedure for voicing objections, and the timeline.

The court approved the form of notice and the proposed dissemination methods, including email, media distribution, toll-free telephone service, and website posting.

The plaintiff sought certification of a class action under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, alleging the defendant was grossly negligent in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic at Oakwood Park, a long-term care home.

The classes comprised residents and visitors who contracted COVID-19 and their family members during the period January 25, 2020 to May 5, 2023.

The defendant consented to certification.

The court found all five certification requirements satisfied, including cause of action, identifiable class, common issues supported by expert methodology on causation and damages, preferability of a class proceeding, and adequate representative plaintiffs with a workable litigation plan.

The defendant in a proposed class action moved under s. 29.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 to dismiss the action for delay, on the basis that the plaintiff failed to file a final and complete certification motion record within one year of commencing the action.

The plaintiff filed a certification record three days after the one-year deadline and, in any event, the record was incomplete as it contained no litigation plan — an indispensable requirement under s. 5(1)(e)(ii) of the CPA.

The plaintiff also moved to amend the Statement of Claim and substitute two new representative plaintiffs, but both proposed plaintiffs demonstrated no meaningful understanding of or engagement with the litigation plan requirement, effectively leaving counsel to litigate on his own.

The Court of Appeal had definitively eliminated any judicial discretion to relieve parties of the strict requirements of s. 29.1.

The motion to dismiss was granted; the motion to amend and substitute was denied.

The plaintiffs moved without notice for a Norwich Order and Mareva Injunction against Benjamin Allan Ward, the former CEO of Wayland Group Corp., in connection with a proposed investors' class action under the Ontario Securities Act.

Ward had been noted in default and evaded service.

The court found evidence of Ward's history of securities fraud, improper conduct, evasion of service, and removal of assets to multiple jurisdictions.

The court granted the Mareva Injunction to prevent asset dissipation pending a default judgment motion scheduled for March 10, 2026, where damages exceeding $49 million are sought on behalf of the proposed class.

Two class action proceedings—one against TELUS Communications Company and related entities, and one against Bell Mobility Inc.—were brought by plaintiffs alleging that the defendants engaged in similar practices of rounding up seconds to minutes on cell phone bills.

The defendants moved to consolidate the two actions for trial or summary judgment.

The court granted the motion to hear the two summary judgment motions consecutively in a single three-week block of hearing time, finding that the common issues were identical and that separate proceedings would create an unnecessary multiplicity of litigation and risk inconsistent findings.

However, the court determined that the case management judge would not preside over the summary judgment motions, as the principles underlying Rules 37.15(1) and 77.06(2)—which prohibit a case management judge from presiding at trial without consent—apply equally to summary judgment motions.

This is a class action alleging financial misrepresentations in the sale of the defendant's securities.

The class comprises persons or entities who acquired securities between March 30, 2011 and November 7, 2013.

The action was certified under the Class Proceedings Act in December 2018.

The parties reached a proposed settlement whereby the defendant will pay $6,800,000 without admitting liability to resolve all claims.

The court approved the notice plan for dissemination to class members and appointed Epiq Global as the settlement administrator.

A settlement approval hearing was scheduled for December 2, 2025.

The plaintiff discontinued a proposed class action against the defendant, a discount brokerage firm, after the certification motion was adjourned.

The defendant sought costs for defending itself against the certification motion.

The plaintiff argued the costs were excessive and should be apportioned among the multiple defendants originally sued.

The court awarded costs to the defendant on a partial indemnity basis, reduced by approximately 25% to account for access to justice concerns in class action litigation.

In a proposed class action alleging defective cochlear implants, the defendants moved for production of comprehensive medical records from the representative plaintiff and a putative class member.

The plaintiff had produced only limited medical records, asserting that other health issues were not relevant to the implant defect claim.

The court granted the defendants' motion, finding that the full medical records were necessary to assess issues of commonality, preferability, and negligence at the certification stage, particularly given the plaintiff's acknowledgment of co-morbidities and his disagreement with his physician regarding the source of his symptoms.

The plaintiffs sought certification of a class action on behalf of Indigenous children living off-reserve who have been through Ontario's child welfare system, along with their caregiving parents and grandparents, and Indigenous children who have experienced gaps and delays in accessing essential services such as education and health services.

The court dismissed the certification motion, finding that the claim lacked a viable cause of action, failed to establish an identifiable class, lacked common issues, and was not a preferable procedure for resolution.

The court held that the claim impugned broad government policies and funding decisions rather than specific wrongful acts, raising justiciability concerns.

The court also found that the representative plaintiffs could not succeed as they were attempting a collateral attack on valid court orders.

This is a costs decision arising from a class action certification motion concerning the now-defunct "birth alerts" policy issued by Children's Aid Societies in Ontario.

The plaintiffs sought to certify a class action against the province of Ontario and 50 CAS defendants on behalf of mothers claiming compensation for discriminatory treatment.

The court certified the action against Ontario but denied certification against the CAS defendants due to structural defects in the pleading (the Ragoonanan problem).

The plaintiffs settled with Ontario for $300,000 in all-inclusive costs.

The CAS defendants sought $564,318.61 in costs.

The court reduced this amount to $335,000, applying a 40% discount under section 31(1) of the Class Proceedings Act to reflect the public interest nature of the case and access to justice concerns.

The decision concerns the certification and approval of a partial settlement in a class action regarding business interruption insurance for dentists, specifically Aviva’s “Triple Guard” policies marketed by CDSPI.

The court certified the class action for settlement purposes as against CDSPI and approved the settlement, finding that all statutory criteria were met and that the settlement was fair and reasonable.

The court also dismissed Aviva’s motion for a stay, holding that disclosure of the settlement was timely and that Aviva’s rights were not prejudiced by the settlement or its timing.

The court approved a proposed settlement and certified the action for settlement purposes under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The class consists of approximately 100 investors in a failed real estate limited partnership project.

The settlement restores the class members’ proportionate interest in the property, now with greater development density and less debt, and is considered generous.

The court found the settlement fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, and approved class counsel’s fees.

The action will continue only as between the defendants for unresolved crossclaims.

The defendants brought a motion to dismiss the action for delay.

The plaintiff, Alma Cherry, requested an adjournment due to health issues and the volume of materials recently served on her.

The court granted the adjournment, scheduling the motion for December 1, 2025, and directed the defendants not to serve any further materials on Ms. Cherry before the motion.

The court clarified that related proceedings involving Ms. Cherry and Novex Insurance Company would not affect the timing of the present motion.

This costs endorsement addresses the Plaintiff's entitlement to costs following an unsuccessful motion by the Defendants to amend the certification of a class action.

The court awards the Plaintiff $150,000 in costs, finding the Defendants' objections unpersuasive, particularly in the absence of their own Bill of Costs for comparison.

The court commends Plaintiff's counsel, especially Ms. Nayerahmadi, for effective advocacy.

The court considered an application by Cannect International Mortgage Corporation and related parties to enforce a costs order against Condoman Developments Inc. and related parties, following failed attempts by Condoman to challenge a mortgage and avoid payment.

The court reviewed the history of the dispute, Condoman’s arguments of impecuniosity, and the legal principles governing enforcement of costs orders, ultimately dismissing Condoman’s action and striking its defence to counterclaim for non-payment of costs.

This endorsement addresses two production issues in a proposed class action for misrepresentation under the Securities Act and the Class Proceedings Act.

The plaintiff sought production of (1) a podcast audio or transcript quoted by defendant Michael Novogratz in his affidavit, and (2) documents underlying a chart referenced by defendant Alex Ioffe.

The court ordered production of the portion of the podcast transcript quoted in the affidavit, but declined to order production of the underlying documents for the chart, finding such requests more appropriate for cross-examination.

The court also set out a timetable for the upcoming motions and clarified the process for resolving refusals.

This endorsement addresses a scheduling dispute in a class action involving dentists who purchased insurance policies brokered by CDSPI Advisory Services Inc. and issued by Aviva companies.

The plaintiffs sought to adjourn upcoming motions for settlement approval and a stay of proceedings, pending an anticipated Court of Appeal decision in Thrive Capital Management Ltd. et al v. Noble 1324 Queen Inc. et al., which may reconsider the principles in Handley Estate v. DTE Industries Limited regarding partial settlements.

The court declined to adjourn, emphasizing the need for timely resolution and noting that new procedural rules (Rule 49.14) would be in force for the scheduled hearing.

The court approved the settlement and class counsel fees in a series of related class actions brought by investors in syndicated mortgage loans against Fortress Real Capital Inc., Fortress Real Developments Inc., and others, including the Sorrenti Defendants.

The settlement, representing approximately 82% of the available insurance, was found to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class.

The court certified the actions as class proceedings for settlement purposes and approved the distribution plan and counsel fees.