Eric Lafreniere

Following a successful summary judgment motion in a class action regarding administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries, the representative plaintiff sought partial indemnity costs of $1,235,590.33.

The defendant argued the costs were excessive and duplicative of work done in a concurrent class action involving mentally ill inmates.

The court rejected the defendant's argument that the work was largely duplicative, noting the cases were distinct and the defendant had tenaciously defended both.

The court made a modest reduction of $113,000 for some overlapping settlement discussions and awarded the plaintiff $1,122,590.33 in costs.

The plaintiff brought a summary judgment motion in a class action against the Federal Government regarding the use of prolonged administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries.

The court found that the Federal Government breached the class members' rights under sections 7 and 12 of the Charter by placing them in administrative segregation for more than 15 days, and that these breaches were not saved by section 1.

The court also found the Federal Government liable for systemic negligence.

The court awarded $20 million in aggregate Charter damages for vindication, deterrence, and compensation, to be distributed equally among the class members, while dismissing the claim for class-wide punitive damages.

The plaintiff sought certification of a proposed national class action alleging that a prescription smoking‑cessation drug caused neuropsychiatric adverse events and that the manufacturer breached its duty to warn consumers and physicians.

The court considered the certification criteria under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, including whether there was some basis in fact for the proposed common issues and whether a class proceeding was the preferable procedure.

The court held that there was some basis in fact for a duty to warn claim against the Canadian manufacturer based on expert and anecdotal evidence of adverse psychiatric events.

The proposed class definition and common issues were amended to focus on specific neuropsychiatric symptoms and the adequacy of product monograph warnings between 2007 and 2010.

The proceeding was certified against the Canadian manufacturer but not against the U.S. parent company, whose involvement lacked a factual basis.