class action

This endorsement concerns ongoing insolvency proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) involving JTI-Macdonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Imperial Tobacco Company Limited, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. The specific motion, brought by the applicants, sought a Quebec Class Action Plaintiffs Notice Protocol Order.

The motion was unopposed and was granted by the court, with the requested order signed.

The Plaintiffs in multiple class actions brought an omnibus motion for approval of a proposed notice plan, including direct notice and production orders from Defendants, following a complex certification decision where some actions were certified, some partially, and some dismissed.

The court denied the request for direct notice and associated production orders, finding it would impose a substantial and undue burden on defendants, particularly those against whom certification was denied.

The court also noted that such production could be seen as an attempt to solicit new representative plaintiffs or re-litigate issues already decided at the certification stage.

An indirect notice strategy was approved, and costs for the notice plan were allocated, with the Plaintiffs bearing a larger share.

The Insurers brought a motion for a declaration that the "Prior Acts Exclusion" in their Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance policies barred coverage for a claim asserted against Just Energy's D&Os.

The claim, filed by a representative plaintiff in a class action, sought unpaid wages and benefits from a period prior to Just Energy's Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) filing.

The court found the Prior Acts Exclusion to be clear and unambiguous.

It determined that the exclusion applied to acts or omissions committed by anyone prior to the CCAA filing date, and that this interpretation was consistent with the commercial context of the policies, which were intended to cover post-filing D&O liability during insolvency.

The court concluded that applying the exclusion did not nullify the policy's main purpose or contradict the reasonable expectations of the parties.

The Insurers' motion was granted, and the representative plaintiff's request for relief against the Insurers was denied.

The plaintiff sought certification of a class proceeding against the defendant bank, alleging the improper charging of duplicative non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on re-presented pre-authorized debit transactions.

The defendant consented to the certification.

The court, applying the five criteria under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, found that the pleadings disclosed a cause of action, there was an identifiable class, common issues were raised, a class proceeding was the preferable procedure, and the representative plaintiff was adequate.

Consequently, the action was certified as a class proceeding.

The plaintiff, Ann Davidson, brought a motion for certification of a proposed class action against T.E.S. Contract Services Inc. (TES), alleging misclassification of workers as independent contractors instead of employees, and seeking benefits under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The court dismissed the certification motion, finding no basis in fact for commonality regarding whether a s. 74.3 agreement (temporary help agency assignment) existed between TES and the putative class members, or whether a common law or s. 1(1) employment relationship could be determined on a class-wide basis.

The court concluded that individual inquiries would be required to determine employment status for each class member, as the evidence did not establish systemic commonality.

This decision concerns the costs of a prior motion in an employment class action.

The Plaintiffs brought a motion to settle a Discovery Plan, and the Defendants brought a cross-motion to amend certified common issues.

The court granted the Defendants' motion and dismissed the Plaintiffs' motion.

The Defendants sought substantial indemnity costs, while the Plaintiffs argued for costs in the cause or partial indemnity.

The court awarded the Defendants $29,930.58 on a partial indemnity basis, finding that while the Plaintiffs' proposed discovery plan was "outrageous, abusive, and unfair," their conduct in seeking it was not.

The court also considered that the process of developing the discovery plan, despite the Plaintiffs losing the motion, ultimately benefited them by leading to admissions that could avoid an onerous common issues trial.

This motion sought court approval for a class action settlement concerning systemic abuse at Grenville Christian College.

The plaintiffs requested approval of the $10.875 million settlement agreement, Class Counsel's fees of $3,122,187.50, payment of the Class Proceedings Fund's levy, and honoraria for the five representative plaintiffs.

The court approved the settlement and Class Counsel's fees, finding them fair and reasonable given the significant litigation risks, particularly the erratic and limited insurance coverage available to the judgment-proof defendants.

However, the court denied the request for honoraria, emphasizing that such awards should be rare and exceptional, despite acknowledging the representative plaintiffs' valuable contributions.

The plaintiff brought a consent motion for leave to commence a class action under the Securities Act and for certification under the Class Proceedings Act for settlement purposes.

The action alleged misrepresentations in public statements by the defendants.

The parties reached a proposed settlement of $500,000.

The court granted leave and certified the class for settlement, finding all certification criteria met, albeit with less strict application for settlement purposes.

The court approved the representative plaintiff and the administrator but required revisions to the proposed class notices and further submissions regarding the notice dissemination plan to ensure clarity and proper information for class members.

This endorsement concerns the approval of a class action settlement and class counsel fees in two consolidated proceedings (Johnson et al. v. Ontario and Sabourin v. Ontario) alleging deplorable conditions at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre.

The court approved a settlement of $32,795,400 and class counsel fees of $9,388,207.92, finding the settlement to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, given the significant litigation risks, the protracted nature of the actions, and the desire for a certain outcome for the thousands of affected class members.

The contingency fee agreements and the requested fees were also deemed fair and reasonable.

This class action, alleging employee misclassification and breaches of provincial employment standards, settled for $2.4 million after almost eight years of litigation.

The court approved the settlement amount, class counsel's legal fees, payment to the Class Proceedings Fund, and the distribution method.

The representative plaintiff's requested honorarium of $20,000 was reduced to $8,000, as his involvement, while excellent, was not deemed "truly extraordinary" but did involve some personal and financial hardship.

The class period was also extended for settlement purposes.

The Representative Plaintiffs sought substantial or partial indemnity costs following a successful conditional certification motion in a class action.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs of $35,000 for the certification motion and $1,000 for costs submissions.

The court rejected substantial indemnity, finding the defendant's conduct in resisting certification was not egregious and did not warrant a punitive award.

It also found the plaintiff's Offer to Settle ill-advised and an "ill fit" for a certification motion, which is a mandatory procedural step that does not decide the merits of the case.

The appellant brought a proposed class action alleging oppression.

The motion judge found that the Ontario Business Corporations Act (OBCA) did not apply because the corporation in question, Birch Mountain, was an Alberta corporation and the appellant was not a complainant under the OBCA.

The motion judge also found that Alberta was the convenient forum.

The Court of Appeal agreed, noting that the action concerned an Alberta corporation, Alberta law applied, and the Alberta courts were already supervising the corporation's bankruptcy and asset sale.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellants, life insurance companies, appealed a trial judgment finding that transactions involving their participating accounts to finance a corporate acquisition breached the Insurance Companies Act.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's findings that the transactions breached the Act by failing to comply with generally accepted accounting principles, improperly allocating expenses, and constituting prohibited transfers.

However, the Court allowed the appeal in part regarding the remedy, finding that the trial judge's order to return $390 million to the participating accounts via litigation trusts was overly broad and akin to an oppression remedy not available under the Act.

Instead, the Court ordered the transactions unwound as of the present, with adjustments for expense savings already received.

The appellant brought a class action alleging that the respondent transmission repair franchisor breached consumer protection legislation by charging an 'Inspection Service' fee, which the appellant characterized as an illegal fee for an estimate when repairs are authorized and carried out.

The motion judge granted summary judgment dismissing the action, finding the fee was for the labour required to remove and reinstall the transmission, not for an estimate.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, agreeing with the motion judge's statutory interpretation and finding no genuine issue requiring a trial.

The appellant appealed an order enforcing a Letter of Request (LOR) from a US District Court seeking document production and examination of representatives in relation to a US antitrust class action.

The appellant argued the application judge failed to exercise independent discretion and merely accepted the LOR at face value.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the application judge properly applied the Friction Division Products criteria, sought clarification from the US judge, and correctly concluded that the requested information was relevant, necessary, and not otherwise obtainable.

The appellants appealed the dismissal of their motion to certify a class action against the respondent bank for allegedly charging undisclosed and unauthorized fees on foreign currency credit card transactions.

The motion judge had refused certification on the basis that compensatory damages could not be determined on a class-wide basis, as it would require individual assessments of how each cardholder would have behaved had the fees been disclosed.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the motion judge erred in applying a tort-like approach to assessing damages for breach of contract.

The Court held that an aggregate assessment of damages was possible under section 24 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and that a class proceeding was the preferable procedure.

The appellants, members of various First Nations, sought to bring a class proceeding against the federal government and church entities for harms suffered at the Mohawk Institute Residential School between 1922 and 1969.

The motion judge and Divisional Court denied certification.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the criteria for certification under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met, including identifiable classes, common issues such as systemic negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, and the preferability of a class action.

The appellants appealed an order striking out their proposed class action statements of claim for oppression against the respondents.

The claims alleged that a recapitalization plan was oppressive to minority shareholders.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the claims failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action because the prospectus explicitly warned of the financial risks, the recapitalization plan benefited the company by preventing immediate collapse, and the appellants failed to plead any specific loss or damage.

The appellant sought to certify a class action against life insurance companies for allegedly deceptive sales of 'premium offset' or 'vanishing premium' policies.

The motions judge and Divisional Court refused certification, finding that the claims required individual assessments of the unique sales experiences and representations made to each policyholder.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the proposed common issues did not represent a substantial ingredient of each class member's claim and that a class proceeding was not the preferable procedure due to the overwhelming individual issues.

The appellant, who had been discharged from bankruptcy, was denied credit because the respondent credit reporting agencies allegedly included statute-barred debts in his credit report contrary to the Consumer Reporting Act.

The appellant brought a proposed class action in negligence.

The motion judge struck the claim, finding policy reasons against recognizing a duty of care.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against the Canadian respondents, holding that a prima facie duty of care exists based on proximity and foreseeability, analogous to negligent misrepresentation, and that policy considerations do not make it plain and obvious that the claim should be struck at this stage.

The claims against the American parent companies were struck for failing to plead sufficient material facts.