The representative plaintiffs moved to discontinue their Ontario class action regarding allegedly defective surgical staplers, intending to rely instead on an overlapping class action in British Columbia.
The defendants opposed the discontinuance and sought an indefinite adjournment, arguing that discontinuing the Ontario action before the resolution of their stay application in B.C. would prejudice absent class members by restarting the limitation period.
The court agreed that the risk of limitations prejudice to absent class members was too great and adjourned the motion indefinitely.
The court also invoked the Canadian Judicial Protocol for the Management of MultiJurisdictional Class Actions to coordinate with the B.C. court.
