Maureen Littlejohn

Following the approval of a Plan of Arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act, the successful applicant sought costs against the objecting creditors.

The objectors argued the applicant was disentitled to costs for failing to request them initially and that the quantum sought was excessive.

The court rejected the disentitlement argument, finding the objectors had notice that costs would be addressed in writing.

The court awarded $100,000 in costs, reducing the requested amount for proportionality, and ordered the costs payable jointly and severally by the objectors as they had pursued a common strategy.

The applicant mining company sought a final order approving a Plan of Arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act to sever ties with the Kyrgyz Republic following the state's seizure of its flagship mine.

Two unsecured judgment creditors of the Republic objected, seeking to enforce their arbitral awards against the Republic's shares in the applicant or garnish payments under the Arrangement.

The court approved the Arrangement, finding it met the statutory requirements, had a valid business purpose, and was fair and reasonable.

The court held the creditors lacked standing to oppose the Arrangement and that garnishment was inappropriate as it would result in double jeopardy.

The moving parties, subcontractors on a mining project, sought leave to intervene in an application brought by the project owners to set aside an arbitral award in favour of the general contractor.

The arbitral award included damages for the subcontractors' lost profits and standby charges.

The court dismissed the motion to intervene, finding that the subcontractors' financial interest in the outcome did not constitute a legal interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, which concerned the construction of the contracts between the owners and the general contractor.

The court also held that the subcontractors would not make a useful contribution to the issues on the application.

The plaintiffs in 17 auto parts price-fixing class actions brought motions for approval of distribution protocols, an order compelling automakers to produce customer information, and approval of honoraria for representative plaintiffs.

The court approved the Omnibus and CVJB Distribution Protocols, finding them fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class.

The court also ordered the automakers to produce the requested customer information pursuant to section 12 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and approved modest honoraria for the representative plaintiffs given their long-term commitment to the litigation.

The plaintiffs brought motions for the approval of 12 settlement agreements totaling $22.6 million in various class actions alleging price-fixing in the global automotive parts industry.

The court found that the proposed settlements fell within the 'zone of reasonableness,' as they were generally 8 to 10 percent of the comparable U.S. indirect purchaser settlements.

The court also approved class counsel's request for a 25 percent contingency fee, totaling approximately $5.4 million, plus disbursements, finding the fee presumptively valid and reasonable.

The plaintiffs in a competition law class action regarding price-fixing of lithium ion batteries moved for approval of a settlement with the Maxell defendants and for approval of class counsel fees.

The court found the $300,000 USD settlement to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, noting the limited documentary evidence implicating Maxell.

The court also approved class counsel's fee request of $97,997.38 and disbursements of $18,785.79, finding them reasonable given the risk undertaken and results achieved.

In a class action alleging a price-fixing conspiracy regarding Lithium Ion Battery Cells, the plaintiffs sought a confidentiality order to protect commercially sensitive documents produced by the defendants during discovery.

The court applied the Sierra Club test and granted the order, finding it was necessary to prevent a serious risk to an important commercial interest and that its salutary effects outweighed any deleterious effects on the open court principle.

The plaintiffs sought judicial approval of two settlement agreements in class actions alleging price-fixing in the automotive parts industry.

The first settlement with T.Rad was for $1,167,452, and the second with S-Y Systems was for $50,000.

The court found both settlements to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, noting they fell within a zone of reasonableness.

The settlements and requested legal fees were approved.

The plaintiffs in a competition law class action regarding price-fixing of lithium-ion batteries brought a motion for consent certification for settlement purposes against two groups of defendants, NEC and Samsung.

The plaintiffs and the settling defendants reached settlement agreements and agreed on a plan for disseminating the notice of hearing for settlement approval.

The court found that the criteria for certification under section 5 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met in the settlement context and granted the motion to certify the action for settlement purposes.