Michael J. Peerless

The moving parties sought leave to appeal a lower court decision.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal.

No costs were awarded because the parties failed to upload their costs materials to Case Centre as required by the court's practice direction.

This decision sanctions the CCAA Plans of Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Imperial Tobacco Company Limited, JTI-Macdonald Corp., and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., effecting a global settlement of all tobacco-related claims in Canada.

The court reviews the structure, allocation, and fairness of the plans, including the creation of a $1 billion Cy-près Foundation, and addresses objections from social stakeholders.

The court finds the plans fair, reasonable, and in the public interest, and grants the requested relief, including third-party releases and the appointment of plan administrators.

The moving parties brought a motion for leave to appeal the decision of Rady J dated October 1, 2024.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal and awarded costs of $5,000 to the responding party.

This certified class action concerns economic losses allegedly sustained by corn growers due to the premature commercialization of genetically modified corn seed (Agrisure/Viptera/Duracade) by the defendants, Syngenta Canada Inc. and Syngenta AG.

The plaintiff alleges that Syngenta released the product into the North American market without obtaining import approval from China, leading to rejected shipments, a glut in domestic supply, and depressed corn prices.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment, arguing they owed no duty of care to the class.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it premature due to the absence of documentary and oral discovery, and concluding that there was a genuine issue requiring a trial regarding the existence of a duty of care, particularly concerning industry warnings to Syngenta and the interconnectedness of the corn market.

The plaintiff, a rideshare driver, commenced a proposed class action alleging that Lyft drivers are employees and entitled to protections under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The defendants moved to stay the action in favour of arbitration pursuant to the Arbitration Act, 1991, relying on the arbitration agreement in their Terms of Service.

The plaintiff argued the arbitration agreement was inaccessible, uncertain, unconscionable, contrary to public policy, and an unlawful contracting out of employment standards.

The court rejected the plaintiff's arguments, finding the arbitration agreement accessible, valid, and enforceable.

The court granted the motion and stayed the proposed class action in favour of arbitration.

The plaintiff, Jeff Mailloux, brought a motion under s. 29 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, for leave to discontinue a proposed class action against Nissan Canada Inc. with prejudice and without costs.

Nissan consented to the motion.

The class action concerned a products liability claim for pure economic losses related to defective Takata airbag inflators.

The motion for discontinuance was brought due to significant changes in the legal landscape regarding compensation for pure economic loss from negligent supply of faulty goods, which greatly diminished the prospects of a substantial economic recovery for the class members.

The court granted the motion, finding that the action was commenced for a proper purpose, putative class members were not prejudiced, and the proposed notice of discontinuance was satisfactory.

This is a motion to discontinue a proposed class action concerning automobile airbags that had been recalled.

The action, which had not been certified, sought compensation for pure economic loss.

Due to developments in case law, particularly the Supreme Court of Canada's clarification on pure economic loss for defective products, the litigation risk increased, and the prospects for certification and substantial economic recovery diminished.

Class Counsel sought leave to discontinue the action with prejudice and without costs.

The court granted the motion, finding that the action was commenced for a proper purpose, the test for discontinuance was satisfied, and putative class members were not prejudiced, as limitation periods remained suspended.

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.

In this class action, the plaintiffs brought a motion, with the defendants' consent, seeking court approval for the notice of a settlement approval hearing, the notice distribution plan, the procedure for class member objections, and the appointment of a notice administrator.

The court granted the motion, finding that the proposed notice and distribution plan complied with the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and were consistent with practices in similar class action settlements, ensuring class members would be adequately informed of the proposed settlement and objection process.

The plaintiff, Adrian Wasylyk, brought a motion for court approval of a Litigation Funding Agreement with Omni Bridgeway (Fund 5) Canada Investments Ltd. for a proposed class action against Lyft, Inc. and Lyft Canada Inc., alleging misclassification of ride-share drivers as independent contractors.

The court reviewed the agreement against the requirements of s. 33.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and common law principles for third-party funding.

The defendants took no position.

The court found the agreement fair, reasonable, and compliant with all statutory and jurisprudential requirements, granting the motion.

The plaintiffs in a proposed class action sought court approval to discontinue the action without costs and without prejudice to putative class members, except for the named plaintiffs.

The action concerned alleged negligent design of a 'Body Control Module' in certain vehicles.

The discontinuance was sought due to recent Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence limiting recovery for pure economic losses in product liability cases, which significantly curtailed the prospect of a substantial award for the class.

The defendants consented to the discontinuance.

The court granted the motion, finding that the action was commenced for a proper purpose, and the discontinuance would not prejudice putative class members, as limitation periods remained suspended until discontinuance.

The plaintiffs in a proposed class action sought court approval to discontinue the action without costs and without prejudice to putative class members, except for the named plaintiffs.

The action concerned alleged negligent design of a transmission shift cable in certain vehicles.

The motion for discontinuance was brought due to recent Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence limiting recovery for pure economic losses in product liability cases, which significantly curtailed the prospect of a substantial award for the putative class.

The defendants consented to the discontinuance.

The court granted the motion, finding that the action was commenced for a proper purpose, the putative class members were not prejudiced, and the proposed notice of discontinuance was adequate.

This appeal concerned a certified class action against Ford Motor Company regarding allegedly false or misleading fuel consumption estimates on EnerGuide labels and in marketing materials for 2013 and 2014 vehicles.

The class action alleged breaches of the federal Competition Act and provincial consumer protection legislation.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's dismissal of the class action, finding that Ford complied with mandatory federal guidelines for fuel consumption testing (2-Cycle Test) and that the representations were not false or misleading.

The court also addressed the "credulous and inexperienced consumer" standard, noting its applicability varies by statute, and found no deceptive non-disclosure.

The plaintiff brought a consent motion to discontinue a proposed class action regarding a data breach involving Capital One.

The action had previously been stayed following a carriage motion where another action was granted carriage, but the stay was lifted after the other action was denied certification.

The court approved the discontinuance under section 29 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, finding that the test for discontinuance was met and ordering notice to be posted on class counsel's websites.

In a class action regarding institutional child abuse at Grenville Christian College, the court addressed the individual issues stage.

The defendants were judgment-proof and had erratic insurance coverage over the 25-year class period, creating a fairness issue where some class members would recover nothing while others would be fully compensated.

The court conditionally approved a three-step Individual Issues Litigation Plan that diverts uninsured claims to a claims program and pools recoveries from insured claims into a Distribution Fund to be shared fairly among all eligible class members.

This certified class action concerned allegations of misleading advertising by Ford regarding fuel consumption estimates on EnerGuide labels for 2013 and 2014 model year vehicles, claiming breaches of the federal Competition Act and provincial consumer protection statutes.

Both parties brought cross-motions for summary judgment.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claims, finding no contravention of the Competition Act due to Ford's compliance with federal guidelines and a lack of evidentiary support for a misleading general impression.

While provincial consumer protection laws allow for non-disclosure claims, the court found no legal obligation for Ford to provide additional disclosures (a "Second Label") beyond the EnerGuide Label and the referenced Fuel Consumption Guide, as there was no evidence that car buyers were deceived.

The defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment, dismissing the class action, was granted.

At a case conference for a certified class action claiming $1.5 billion for understated fuel consumption, both parties had brought summary judgment motions.

Given the complexity of the case, which involves nearly two dozen expert witnesses and significant technical data, the court endorsed the parties' proposal to proceed with a 4-week hybrid trial rather than a 'trial in a box' summary judgment motion.

The defendant in a certified class action moved for partial summary judgment and sought leave under Rule 39.02 to admit an expert psychiatric report obtained after the representative plaintiff was cross-examined on her affidavits.

The plaintiff objected, arguing the defendant split its case and failed to comply with the court-ordered timetable.

The court dismissed the motion for leave, finding the defendant provided no adequate explanation for failing to obtain the evidence earlier and that admitting the late report would cause non-compensable prejudice to the plaintiff given the agreed-upon timetable.

The plaintiff sought certification of a national class proceeding on behalf of Canadian corn growers alleging negligent premature commercialization of genetically modified corn seed containing the MIR-162 trait before Chinese import approval was obtained.

The court held that the action satisfied the cause of action, common issues, preferability, and representative plaintiff requirements, and that there was some basis in fact for loss, causation, and a proposed aggregate damages methodology despite competing expert evidence.

The court rejected arguments that the class was unsupported for lack of proof of loss, that limitations issues defeated certification, and that individualized damages questions barred certification.

Certification was granted, subject to refinement of the class definition and amendment of one proposed common issue.

Donald Parker appealed a motion judge's refusal to extend his opt-out period from a class action and a related costs order.

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario moved to quash Parker's appeal, arguing the motion judge's order was interlocutory and thus appealable only to the Divisional Court.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Ontario's motion, holding that the motion judge's order was final because it effectively terminated Parker's individual civil action by denying his substantive right to opt out of the class proceeding.

The court emphasized the importance of opt-out rights as substantive rights.