Peter Osborne

The plaintiffs brought a motion for approval of a $5.47 million 'ice breaker' settlement with the Deutsche Bank defendants in two proposed class actions alleging price-fixing in the international gold and silver markets.

The court approved the settlement, finding it fair and reasonable despite the $1 billion damages claim, because the settlement amount was consistent with parallel U.S. settlements and the non-monetary cooperation from Deutsche Bank was of inestimable value.

The court also approved class counsel's request for an interim fee award of a 25% contingency fee plus disbursements, noting that such awards promote early settlement and lessen the financial burden on class counsel in complex conspiracy cases.

Following a successful motion by the defendants to prevent the plaintiffs from using extra-jurisdictional procedures to acquire documents from non-parties, the defendants sought partial indemnity costs of $75,365.38.

The plaintiffs argued for reduced costs of $15,000, citing the novelty and public interest of the issue under section 31 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The court rejected the plaintiffs' argument, finding the issue was not legally novel in a way that justified denying costs and noting the plaintiffs' conduct was improper.

The court awarded the defendants their costs as claimed.

The applicant general partner sought a declaration that a third‑party offer to purchase limited partnership units was not bona fide and was a sham designed to trigger right‑of‑first‑refusal provisions in a partnership agreement.

The applicant argued the offer was structured to allow a particular limited partner to obtain sufficient units to gain a veto over extraordinary resolutions requiring 75% approval.

The court considered the legal test for bona fide offers in the context of rights of first refusal, including whether the offer was made in good faith, genuine, and not a sham.

The court held that the offer was a legitimate third‑party offer at a reasonable price and that the evidence did not establish an absence of bona fides.

The application for a declaration was dismissed.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action following the sudden death of Emilio Spirito at Trillium Health Centre.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants' negligence, specifically the failure to insert a nasogastric tube, caused the deceased to aspirate fluids and die.

The court found that the defendant doctors and nurses met the standard of care in their treatment and monitoring of the deceased.

Furthermore, the court accepted expert pathology evidence that the deceased died from bilateral lobar pneumonia acquired from air-borne bacteria, meaning there was no causal connection between the alleged negligence and the death.

The action was dismissed.

In CCAA proceedings, the applicant sought an order declaring that shareholder class action claims alleging losses from the purchase or sale of its securities constituted “equity claims” under s. 2 of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The applicant also sought a determination that indemnity and contribution claims advanced by auditors and underwriters in relation to those shareholder actions were likewise equity claims.

The court held that shareholder claims alleging losses from trading in the company’s securities fall squarely within the statutory definition of equity claims and are subordinated to creditor claims.

Indemnification and contribution claims arising from those shareholder actions were also characterized as equity claims because their nature derives from the underlying shareholder claims.

However, the court left open the possibility that claims for defence costs might not necessarily be equity claims depending on the outcome of the underlying litigation.