Matthew Douglas Baer

The court issued a supplementary endorsement to correct two points from its previous reasons for judgment granting certification and summary judgment dismissing the action.

On consent of the parties, the court revised the class definition regarding the defined benefit indexation payment increase from the pension plan.

The court also clarified that only the employer, and not the other defendants, owed a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff in the administration of the plan.

A corn grower who neither purchased nor planted genetically modified corn seed brought a proposed class action against the seed manufacturer for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of the Competition Act.

The manufacturer had commercialized the seed in North America before obtaining approval in China.

The seed's traits commingled with all North American corn, causing China to ban all North American corn imports, resulting in a market glut and price collapse.

The motion judge struck all claims.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, reinstating the negligence claim for premature commercialization while upholding dismissal of the misrepresentation and Competition Act claims.

The representative plaintiffs in a class action brought a motion for approval of their retainer agreements, class counsel's fees and disbursements of $175,000, and a $500 honorarium for each representative plaintiff.

The court found the honorarium modest and appropriate.

The court also approved the contingency retainer agreements under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and found the requested fees to be fair and reasonable given the results achieved, the risks undertaken, and the fact that the defendants agreed to pay the fees.

The representative plaintiffs sought approval of a settlement in a class action against General Motors regarding incorrect fuel economy stickers on certain 2016 model year vehicles.

The settlement provided class members with either a cash payment equivalent to a prior voluntary compensation program or a $2,000 voucher for a new vehicle.

The court found the settlement, negotiated at arm's length by experienced counsel, to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, and approved it along with class counsel fees of $175,000.

The plaintiff, a pensioner, brought a proposed class action alleging that the employer miscalculated the 2017 cost of living increase for pension payments, negatively affecting all subsequent years.

The plaintiff sought certification of the class proceeding and summary judgment for breach of contract, breach of trust, and breach of fiduciary duty.

The court certified the action as a class proceeding, finding it met all criteria under the Class Proceedings Act.

However, on the merits, the court granted summary judgment in favour of the defendants, concluding that the employer's interpretation of the pension plan's rounding provisions was correct and no breach of duty occurred.

The plaintiff in a proposed class action moved to introduce Pension Information Committee Reports from 1998 to the present as late-filed evidence, after cross-examinations had been completed.

The defendants objected but suggested that if the reports were admitted, the annual pension statements for the same years should also be admitted.

The court applied the test for late-filed evidence, finding the documents relevant, non-prejudicial as they were the defendants' own records, and reasonably omitted initially.

The court granted the motion, admitting both the reports and the annual statements in the interests of justice.

The plaintiff sought certification of a class action against Ford Motor Company and related entities, alleging false, misleading, or deceptive representations regarding the fuel consumption of 2013 and 2014 model year vehicles.

The claim, for $1.5 billion, was based on violations of the Competition Act and the Consumer Protection Act, asserting that Ford understated fuel consumption by using an outdated 2-Cycle Test instead of the more accurate 5-Cycle Test.

The court certified the action, finding that the pleadings disclosed viable causes of action, there was an identifiable class, common issues existed, a class proceeding was the preferable procedure, and the representative plaintiff was suitable.

The plaintiff, a commercial corn grower, brought a proposed class action against the defendants, manufacturers of genetically modified corn seeds (Agrisure), alleging negligence and breach of the Competition Act.

The plaintiff claimed that North American corn prices fell due to China's rejection of corn shipments containing unapproved Agrisure, causing economic loss to non-Agrisure farmers.

The defendants moved to strike the claim under Rule 21, arguing no duty of care existed for pure economic loss.

The court granted the motion, finding that while the claim was framed in misrepresentation, the plaintiff's reliance on the defendants' alleged undertaking not to introduce Agrisure without global approvals was unreasonable, as commingling was inevitable and preventing it would require withholding the product from the domestic market, which had regulatory approval.

The court also noted the risk of indeterminate liability and the illogical elevation of foreign approvals over domestic ones.

The plaintiffs sought to certify a class action against the manufacturers of Cook IVC filters, alleging negligent design and failure to warn of risks associated with the medical devices.

The court dismissed the certification motion.

While the plaintiffs satisfied the identifiable class and representative plaintiff criteria, and pleaded a valid cause of action for failure to warn, they failed to plead a valid cause of action for design negligence.

Crucially, the court found no 'some basis in fact' for the existence of any common issues regarding either design defect or duty to warn, as the evidence did not identify a specific design defect or inadequacy in the warnings provided to physicians.

Consequently, the preferable procedure criterion was also not met.

This decision addresses a scheduling dispute in a proposed class action concerning the Bell Canada Pension Plan.

The defendants sought to have their motion to stay the class action, arguing that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) was the preferable forum, heard before the certification motion.

The plaintiff opposed this, requesting both motions be heard concurrently.

The court, applying the Cannon factors and principles against litigation by installments, denied the defendants' request, directing that the stay motion be heard together with the certification motion, emphasizing that the preferability of jurisdiction is an issue best determined within the certification context.

The plaintiffs sought court approval to certify a class action for settlement purposes and to approve the settlement and legal fees.

The class action, limited to specific pelvic mesh products (Avaulta, Align, Ajust), was certified for settlement.

The court approved the $2.475 million settlement after class counsel provided sufficient information demonstrating its reasonableness, addressing initial judicial concerns about the lack of detail.

Legal fees of $742,500 (30% contingency) plus disbursements and taxes were also approved, consistent with the court's principled approach to class counsel compensation.

The plaintiffs moved for certification of a products liability class action against the defendants regarding pelvic mesh products used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.

The court dismissed the certification motion, finding that while the plaintiffs satisfied the cause of action, identifiable class, and representative plaintiff criteria, they failed to establish some-basis-in-fact for the commonality and preferable procedure criteria due to the multifarious nature of the 19 different products involved.

The dismissal was made subject to an 'Alternatives Motion' to allow the plaintiffs to propose continuing the proceeding in an altered form.

The plaintiffs sought certification of a proposed class action against a pharmaceutical manufacturer regarding the oral contraceptives Yasmin and YAZ.

The proposed class included Ontario residents prescribed and using the drugs prior to November 30, 2011, and derivative claimants under the Family Law Act.

The plaintiffs alleged negligence in the design, testing, marketing, and warning associated with the drospirenone component, claiming it posed greater risks than other oral contraceptives.

The court held that the pleadings disclosed viable causes of action, that the proposed class and common issues were sufficiently defined, and that a class proceeding was the preferable procedure under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

Certification was granted with certain modifications to the class definition and litigation plan.