Gannon Gault Beaulne

The appellants sought certification of a proposed class action on behalf of approximately 15,000 Canadian major junior hockey players from 1975 to the present, alleging systemic abuse including physical and sexual assaults, bullying, harassment, and hazing.

The class action named 78 defendants across four major junior hockey leagues and sought to hold the leagues and teams liable for systemic negligence in failing to adopt and enforce effective abuse-prevention policies.

The motion judge denied certification, finding the action unmanageable due to its unprecedented scope and complexity, and that no viable litigation plan had been presented.

The appellants appealed on three grounds: that they had disclosed a viable cause of action, that common issues existed, and that the class action was the preferable procedure.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that while the appellants had viable claims and the motion judge applied an overly stringent test to the common issues requirement, the action was unmanageable and therefore not the preferable procedure.

The court emphasized that the proposed class action was far broader and more complex than previous systemic negligence class actions, involving 78 defendants across 13 jurisdictions, events spanning 50 years, and complex conflicts-of-law issues.

The appellants' attempt to fundamentally alter their case on appeal by dropping 74 defendants was rejected as impermissible.

The plaintiffs brought two motions in a class action: one to approve a settlement agreement with Graham Turner LLP, declare notice not required under s. 19 of the Class Proceedings Act, approve a notice plan for class members, and grant leave to remove Emily Flammini as a representative plaintiff; and a second motion to approve Class Counsel's legal fees, the Class Proceedings Fund's levy, and the use of the remaining settlement fund for ongoing disbursements.

The court approved the settlement as fair and reasonable, found notice of the hearing unnecessary given the use of funds for disbursements, approved the proposed notice plan, and granted the removal of the representative plaintiff.

Class Counsel's fees and the CPF levy were approved, and the balance of the settlement fund was ordered to be held in trust for the class and applied towards ongoing disbursements.

This decision concerns a motion to quash an appeal of a "Transition Order" that converted a proposed class action into multiple joinder actions.

The moving parties (defendants) argued the Transition Order was interlocutory and thus appealable only to the Divisional Court with leave.

The responding parties (plaintiffs) contended the order was final in some aspects or, alternatively, so interrelated with other appeals (refusal of class certification and dismissal of action against certain parties) that the Court of Appeal should hear it under s. 6(2) of the Courts of Justice Act.

The Court of Appeal denied the motion to quash, finding a significant interrelationship between the appeals, which meant leave would have inevitably been granted, allowing the Court of Appeal to assume jurisdiction.

This decision concerns Phase 4 of a motion to settle a Section 7 Order under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The original proposed class action, brought by former and current major junior hockey players alleging abuse, was not certified.

The Section 7 Plan aims to transition the proposed class action into up to 60 individual joinder actions.

The court approved Version 4 of the Draft Section 7 Plan, which outlines procedures for notice, opt-in, commencement of actions, case management, and discovery.

A key contentious issue resolved in this phase concerned the staying of third-party claims until the completion of the main actions.

This decision is Phase 3 of a motion to settle a Section 7 Order under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The court is finalizing the Draft Section 7 Plan, which facilitates the transition of a proposed class action, previously denied certification, into up to 60 individual joinder actions against various hockey leagues and teams.

The plan addresses notice dissemination, the approval of contingency fee agreements, the management of third-party claims by staying them under Rule 29.09 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, and the potential for severance of actions.

The court also proposes a consensual settlement track for modest claims as an alternative to litigation.

This appeal concerns the admissibility of fresh evidence in an application to set aside an arbitral tribunal's jurisdictional decision under the UNCITRAL Model Law.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario affirmed the Divisional Court's ruling that such applications are hearings de novo, allowing parties to introduce evidence not previously before the arbitral tribunal, and that the "competence-competence" principle does not limit the court's fact-finding ability in this context.

The Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the Divisional Court's decision to admit the fresh evidence.

The appellants, survivors and family members of victims of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, brought a class action against Loblaws and Bureau Veritas seeking damages for negligence, vicarious liability, and breach of fiduciary duty.

The motion judge dismissed the action on the basis that Bangladeshi law applied (not Ontario law), the claims were statute-barred under Bangladesh's one-year limitation period, and the claims disclosed no reasonable cause of action.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal on all grounds.

The court also addressed a costs appeal, reducing the costs award by 30% to reflect the public interest component of the claims.

The plaintiff, Westmount-Keele Limited, purchased a hotel from the defendants, Royal Host Hotels and Resorts Real Estate Investment Trust and North York (Keele St.) Purchaseco Inc., with an agreement to reimburse Royal Host for up to $2 million in hotel closure costs.

Westmount's obligation was secured by a mortgage, later replaced by $2.2 million paid into court.

The central issue was to determine Royal Host's entitlement from these funds.

The court found Royal Host's initial claim of over $2.1 million in closing costs to be largely unsubstantiated, particularly a fictitious franchise termination fee.

The court determined that Royal Host was entitled to $638,201 plus prejudgment interest at a blended rate of 1.72%, significantly less than claimed, and Westmount was entitled to the return of the remaining funds.

The court also found Royal Host's conduct contributed to the delay in proceedings.

This endorsement addresses a procedural issue arising from the defendant's attempt to seek an order in Family Court to consolidate a civil action with a Family Law Proceeding, despite prior case management orders in the civil action deferring consideration of such a motion.

The court found the defendant's action to be improper and in non-compliance with its orders, directing the defendant to withdraw the consolidation relief sought in the Family Law Proceeding.

The decision emphasizes the importance of adhering to case management directions and preventing forum shopping between different court lists.

The appellant appealed a summary judgment decision dismissing its claim for economic damages.

The appellant argued that the respondents breached their obligation to properly quantify post-closing costs, which impeded the appellant's ability to obtain financing for phase II of a development.

The Court of Appeal found that the motion judge properly addressed the appellant's submissions and dismissed the appeal with costs.