Michael Peerless

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.

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 representative plaintiffs moved for approval of a $2.375 million settlement in a class action concerning the under-dosing of chemotherapy drugs at several hospitals.

The defendants, who supplied and administered the drugs, denied liability, arguing there was no evidence of clinical impact on patient outcomes and that the plaintiffs' psychological harm did not meet the legal threshold for a recognizable psychiatric illness.

The court approved the settlement, finding it fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class given the significant litigation risks, the lack of evidence showing clinical harm, and the recommendations of experienced class counsel.

The court also approved class counsel's requested fees of $400,000.

The plaintiffs, former inmates of the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, brought a motion to certify a class action against the provincial Crown alleging systemic negligence and Charter breaches resulting from overcrowding and inadequate supervision.

The Crown opposed certification and moved to strike portions of the claim and evidence.

The court struck the claim for breach of fiduciary duty but found the pleadings otherwise disclosed reasonable causes of action in systemic negligence and Charter breaches.

The court admitted the plaintiffs' evidence for the limited purpose of the certification motion and concluded that all criteria under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act were met.

The motion for certification was granted.

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.

The plaintiffs, autistic children and their parents, commenced a proposed class proceeding alleging the provincial government and several school boards failed to provide or fund Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy and related services within Ontario’s education system, contrary to the Charter.

After earlier rulings struck most causes of action and the Court of Appeal limited the remaining claims, the plaintiffs moved to discontinue the proceeding under s. 29 of the Class Proceedings Act.

The court reviewed the legal framework governing discontinuance of proposed class proceedings, focusing on whether the discontinuance would prejudice putative class members.

Finding no evidence of improper purpose, prejudice to class members, or objection from notified parties, the court approved the discontinuance on consent and without costs.