The defendants brought a motion to amend the class definition in an Ontario securities class action to exclude persons who would be bound by a pending settlement in parallel U.S. class proceedings.
The U.S. settlement was conditional on the Ontario court granting this amendment.
The court applied the Currie factors and recognized the U.S. court's judgment approving the settlement, finding that the U.S. court had a real and substantial connection to the claims, and that the absent class members were accorded procedural fairness and adequate representation.
The court further determined that amending the class was the preferable procedure, as it would facilitate access to justice for the overlapping class members without unfairly prejudicing the remaining class members.
The motion was granted and the class definition was amended.
