Linda R. Rothstein

The plaintiffs brought a motion for approval of a class action settlement and approval of class counsel fees under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The class action alleged negligent design and manufacture of elevator “sheave jammer” braking devices and breach of maintenance contracts following a regulatory order requiring their replacement.

The parties reached a mediated settlement establishing a $12 million settlement fund for class members who incurred costs replacing the devices.

The court held the settlement fell within the range of reasonableness given litigation risks, including uncertainty in proving defectiveness and potential reduction of damages through betterment arguments.

The court approved the settlement, class counsel fees, and a $15,000 honorarium for one representative plaintiff, but declined compensation for the second representative plaintiff.

Non‑party individuals brought a motion to set aside an Anton Piller order obtained ex parte in a dispute over an alleged breach of a referral agreement between law firms.

The court reviewed the stringent requirements for Anton Piller orders and Norwich orders.

Although there was some evidence suggesting a possible breach of contract by the respondents to the underlying agreement, the evidence did not establish the extremely strong prima facie case, serious damage, or real risk of destruction of evidence required for such extraordinary relief.

The court also found insufficient grounds for a Norwich order against the non‑party individuals.

The Anton Piller order was therefore set aside in its entirety and seized materials were ordered returned.

The plaintiffs, representing a class of Barbados participating policyholders, brought an action against Manulife following the transfer of their policies to Life of Barbados (LOB) in 1996 and Manulife's subsequent demutualization in 1999.

The plaintiffs claimed that Manulife owed them a duty of care and a fiduciary duty to protect their rights to participate in the demutualization.

The court found that while it was reasonably foreseeable that Manulife would demutualize, no duty of care or fiduciary duty was owed to the plaintiffs because their rights as policyholders were lawfully extinguished by the transfer agreement, which was approved by regulators in Barbados and Canada.

The action was dismissed.