M. Nowina

The applicant, a representative plaintiff in a U.S. class action regarding unsolicited telemarketing voicemails, sought to enforce Letters of Request to compel the respondent Ontario corporation to attend a deposition.

Following delays in obtaining a protective order in the U.S. action, the applicant moved to add a U.S. defendant as a party to the application and to impose an outside date for the deposition.

The court granted the order, adding the U.S. defendant as a necessary party and setting an outside date of February 4, 2022, for the completion of the deposition.

The defendants moved under Rules 21.01 and 25.11 of the Rules of Civil Procedure to strike portions of a statement of claim alleging participation in a multi‑million dollar investment fraud and civil conspiracy.

They argued the conspiracy allegations were inadequately pleaded and that a paragraph describing the scheme as a “typical bridge loan fraud” known to law enforcement was prejudicial and incapable of being pleaded back to.

The court held that the pleading adequately set out the elements of civil conspiracy, including the alleged agreement, overt acts, unlawful conduct, and resulting damages, and that conspiracy allegations should not be held to an extraordinary level of particularization at early stages.

The impugned paragraph was also relevant to the defendants’ alleged knowledge of the fraudulent scheme and was not vexatious or unduly prejudicial.

The motion to strike was dismissed with costs.