Jennie M. Brodski

The applicant brought an application for review of a decision by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) finding she had misappropriated client funds.

The applicant ceased participating in the proceeding in June 2021 and failed to attend the scheduled hearing despite receiving notice.

The Capital Markets Tribunal treated the application as abandoned and dismissed it.

This case involved a dispute over a verbal contract for the supply of coyote furs between a fur marketing company and a fur manufacturing company.

The marketing company sued for unpaid invoices, and the manufacturing company counterclaimed for breach of contract, misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, and conspiracy.

The court found a binding oral contract for a specific quantity of furs at a fixed price.

The marketing company breached the contract by failing to deliver the agreed quantity and by unilaterally increasing the price.

The court adjusted the marketing company's claim for unpaid invoices, granted the manufacturing company a refund for poor quality furs on one invoice, and relieved it from paying two other disputed invoices.

Claims for negligent misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, and conspiracy were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Minimal damages were awarded to the manufacturing company for the breach of contract due to lack of reliable quantification and mitigation evidence.

A third-party claim against an individual was also dismissed.

The plaintiff brought a motion to set aside an order quashing its appeal of a decision that refused to certify class action claims against certain defendants while certifying claims against others.

The Divisional Court held that under section 30 of the Class Proceedings Act, where an action is certified against some defendants but not others, the plaintiff requires leave to appeal the refusal.

Applying binding appellate authority, the court found that allowing an appeal as of right would unduly delay the certified proceeding.

The motion was dismissed.

The court determined the costs award following the dismissal of a securities class action against the defendant on jurisdiction and forum non conveniens grounds.

The successful defendant sought $696,393 in partial indemnity costs for both the jurisdiction and certification motions, while the plaintiff proposed $75,000 at most.

The court adjusted the defendant's request, particularly by removing expert fees for "efficient market" analysis deemed unnecessary.

Considering the timing of the jurisdiction motion and the impact of a prior analogous decision (Yip v HSBC Holdings) which simplified the legal analysis, the court fixed costs at $260,000, payable by the plaintiff to the defendant, emphasizing fairness and reasonableness to the losing party under Rule 57.01(1).

The plaintiff, George Leon, brought a proposed class action in Ontario against Volkswagen AG for fraudulent misrepresentation related to the purchase of VWAG American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and common shares on foreign exchanges.

Volkswagen AG moved to dismiss the action for lack of jurisdiction or, alternatively, to stay it on the grounds of forum non conveniens.

The court dismissed the action, finding no real and substantial connection to Ontario, as VWAG did not carry on business in Ontario and the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation was not committed there.

The court also found that the U.S. (for ADRs) and Germany (for common shares) were clearly more appropriate forums, emphasizing the principle of international comity in cross-border securities litigation and giving little weight to the plaintiff's asserted juridical advantages in Ontario.

In a securities misrepresentation class action, the defendants brought a motion to strike the plaintiffs' reply expert report, delivered by Andrew M. Mintzer, in its entirety.

The report, initially intended to address causation, expanded to cover liability, contravening the agreed timetable and the rule against case-splitting.

The court granted the defendants' motion, striking the report but allowing the plaintiffs leave to file a new affidavit from Mr. Mintzer strictly confined to the issue of causation, as originally agreed.

The court emphasized the importance of adhering to timetables and the rule against case-splitting, particularly in leave motions under the Ontario Securities Act, which serve a gatekeeper function.

The plaintiff in a proposed securities class action moved for certification for settlement purposes, approval of a partial settlement with the auditor defendant, dismissal of the action against individual defendants, and approval of class counsel fees.

The action alleged misrepresentations in the corporate defendant's financial statements.

The court approved the $1 million (USD) settlement with the auditor, finding it fair and reasonable, particularly given the statutory liability limits for experts.

The court also approved the dismissal against the individual defendants and class counsel's fee request of 30% of the settlement funds plus disbursements.