Jay Strosberg

In a proposed class action regarding the use of secure isolation in youth detention centres, the Crown brought a motion seeking production of the representative plaintiff's Youth Records.

The plaintiff opposed, arguing the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction to order production under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The court held that while it could not directly order production of the records, it had jurisdiction under the Class Proceedings Act to order the plaintiff to apply to the Youth Justice Court for access to the records.

The court ordered the plaintiff to make the application, failing which the proposed class action would be stayed.

Two competing plaintiffs, Kowalyshyn and O'Brien, brought a carriage motion to determine who would represent the class in a securities misrepresentation class action against Valeant Pharmaceuticals and others.

The proposed class actions alleged that Valeant misrepresented its financial results and business practices, causing billions in losses to investors.

The court analyzed 16 carriage factors, finding most to be neutral or non-determinative.

However, the court found that the interrelationship of class actions in multiple jurisdictions strongly favoured Kowalyshyn.

O'Brien's action was closely tied to a parallel action in Quebec, and the court viewed her Ontario action as a surrogate attempt to stay Kowalyshyn's action indirectly.

The court granted carriage to Kowalyshyn and temporarily stayed O'Brien's action.

The Superior Court of Justice approved a $26.5 million settlement in a securities class action against Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and its officers/directors.

The court emphasized the "zone of reasonableness" analysis for settlement approval, requiring class counsel to provide sufficient evidence, particularly regarding available insurance coverage, to justify the settlement amount.

Leave was granted under the Securities Act and the action was certified for settlement purposes under the Class Proceedings Act.

Class counsel's contingency fees of 33% were also approved.

On a consent motion in a proposed class action concerning ticket resale practices, the court considered certification for settlement purposes and approval of a negotiated settlement under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The action alleged that the defendants’ primary and secondary market ticket sales violated the Ticket Speculation Act through resale pricing and related practices.

The court held that the criteria for certification under s. 5(1) were satisfied, including the existence of an identifiable class and common issue relating to whether the defendants breached the statute.

The proposed settlement provided refunds of $36 per ticket to class members and required changes to the defendants’ ticket resale website practices.

The court concluded the settlement and the requested contingency fee arrangement were fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class.

The defendants brought motions for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's putative class action regarding a leveraged charitable donation program, arguing the claim was statute-barred.

The plaintiff alleged he relied on the defendants' tax opinions to participate in the program, which the CRA later disallowed.

The court dismissed the motions, finding a genuine issue for trial regarding when the plaintiff discovered his claim, particularly given the ongoing solicitor-client relationship with the defendant law firm that was representing him against the CRA while potentially in a conflict of interest.