Perell

The defendants sought a reconsideration of a costs decision following a class action certification motion, arguing for no costs due to divided success because only one of the plaintiffs' two distinct cases was certified.

The court rejected this argument, finding that the joinder of claims was proper under the Rules of Civil Procedure and consistent with the principle of avoiding a multiplicity of proceedings.

The original costs award of $150,000 to the plaintiffs was confirmed.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to certify the action as a class proceeding for settlement purposes against TD, RBC, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank in a case alleging a conspiracy to fix prices in the futures exchange market.

The court found that the criteria for certification under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met and granted the motion, approving the settlement agreements and the plan of dissemination.

The court reconsidered a previous costs award of $112,500 made against the plaintiffs following the dismissal of their refusals and interlocutory injunction motions in a proposed class action regarding a data breach.

The plaintiffs argued the defendants' costs claim reflected over-lawyering and sought costs in the cause.

The court rejected the plaintiffs' submissions, finding their motions were unnecessary, overreaching, and deplorably prosecuted.

The court confirmed the original partial indemnity costs award of $112,500 and awarded an additional $12,500 for the costs submissions, for a total of $125,000 payable to the defendants.

The plaintiff, a union member, commenced an action against three union officials for defamation, battery, and negligence arising from a union election dispute.

The defendants moved to strike the statement of claim.

The plaintiff delivered a fresh as amended statement of claim and later brought a cross-motion for leave to deliver a second fresh as amended statement of claim to add the union as a party and assert a claim for civil conspiracy.

The court struck all claims without leave to amend, except for the battery claim against one defendant, finding that the proposed civil conspiracy claim and the claims against the union were statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

Following the successful certification of a class proceeding, the plaintiffs sought costs.

The parties agreed that $150,000, all inclusive, was a fair and reasonable amount for the certification motion, which included $5,000 for a motion to strike an affidavit.

The defendants did not deliver any costs submissions opposing the request.

The court found the agreed amount to be fair and reasonable and awarded the plaintiffs $150,000 in costs.

The plaintiff slipped and fell on a temporary walkway adjacent to a subway construction site during a heavy snowfall.

She sued the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, and the general contractor for negligence and gross negligence.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment.

The court found that snow removal was actively underway when the plaintiff arrived and that the defendants' actions were reasonable.

The court granted the motion and dismissed the action, finding no genuine issue requiring a trial regarding occupiers' liability or municipal gross negligence.

The plaintiffs moved to certify a proposed class action for settlement purposes against a dental clinic and several dentists.

The action alleged negligence in infection control and prevention practices, exposing patients to communicable diseases.

The court found that the five-part test for certification under section 5 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 was met.

The action was certified on consent for settlement purposes.

The plaintiff sought leave to assert a statutory cause of action for secondary market misrepresentation under the Securities Act and to certify a class action against SNC-Lavalin and its directors.

The plaintiff alleged that SNC failed to timely disclose a material change when it was informed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada that it would not be invited to negotiate a remediation agreement regarding criminal charges.

The court dismissed the motions, finding that the communication was not a 'change' in the business, operations, or capital of SNC, and therefore not a 'material change' requiring immediate disclosure.

The court also declined to certify the common law negligent misrepresentation claim, as reliance would be an individual issue and the statutory claim was not viable.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Québec issued a joint decision in three related class actions against the Attorney General of Canada.

Following the approval of a Distribution and Individual Issues Protocol, the parties sought approval for minor typographical corrections and various translated administrative documents, including notice forms and claim forms.

The courts approved the corrections and the submitted documents, and directed the parties to submit the claims administrator's terms of appointment once finalized.

The plaintiff in two proposed class actions alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the canned tuna industry brought a motion for approval of a third-party litigation funding agreement.

The plaintiff could not bear the financial burden of funding the required expert evidence.

After extensive negotiations and due diligence, the plaintiff entered into an agreement with Lake Whillans Fund.

The court applied the four-factor test for approving third-party funding agreements and found the agreement to be necessary for access to justice, fair, reasonable, and protective of the defendants' interests.

The motion to approve the funding agreement was granted.

On a motion in a prisoner segregation class proceeding, the court approved class counsel’s contingency fee agreement, a $7.5 million class counsel fee plus HST, the statutory levy payable to the Class Proceedings Fund, and a $15,000 honorarium for the representative plaintiff.

The court held that the litigation was extraordinarily risky, legally and factually complex, and had produced a very substantial result, including a $30 million aggregate damages award that had been upheld on appeal.

Applying class action fee approval principles, the court found the reduced 25% fee request fair and reasonable.

Applying the exceptional contribution framework for representative plaintiff honoraria, the court found the representative plaintiff’s leadership and assistance instrumental to the class’s success.

The plaintiffs, former employees who received variable compensation, brought a proposed class action against their former employer for unpaid vacation and public holiday pay.

The employer admitted to miscalculating the pay and made remedial payments for the two years prior to discovery, but relied on the Limitations Act to deny older claims.

The plaintiffs moved for certification and the defendants cross-moved for summary judgment.

The court dismissed the summary judgment motion, finding genuine issues for trial regarding limitation periods and releases.

The court also dismissed the certification motion, concluding that while the first three criteria were met, a class proceeding was not the preferable procedure because individual issues trials regarding limitation periods and releases were inevitable and would not be advanced by a common issues trial.

The plaintiff sought partial indemnity costs of $290,704 following a successful bifurcated certification motion in a class action against the defendant.

The defendant argued the costs should be reduced by 50% because the plaintiff was successful in certifying the common law negligence claim but unsuccessful in certifying the statutory misrepresentation claim.

The court rejected the defendant's argument, finding that the plaintiff was the successful party in a complex, hard-fought motion and that divided success on specific claims does not necessarily warrant a reduction in costs.

The plaintiff was awarded the full amount claimed.

The applicant brought an application for the partition and sale of a property co-owned with his brother.

The brother brought a cross-application claiming a 77% ownership interest based on a constructive trust, arguing that a $120,000 payment from their mother used to pay down the mortgage was a gift to him.

The court found that the $120,000 payment was a loan to both brothers, not a gift to one.

The court declared the brothers to be 50:50 owners, ordered the partition and sale of the property, and directed that the mother have a first charge of $120,000 on the net proceeds to repay the loan.

The Attorney General of Ontario brought a motion under the Civil Remedies Act, 2001 for an order preserving $543,515 in Canadian currency seized during a murder investigation.

The currency was found in the deceased's residence along with large quantities of controlled substances and drug trafficking paraphernalia.

The court found reasonable grounds to believe the currency was the proceeds or instrument of unlawful activity and granted the preservation order, noting no interests of justice weighed against it.

The moving parties, who are Independent Assessment Process (IAP) claimants under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, brought a motion requesting that the case management judge recuse himself from hearing their Request for Directions.

The moving parties alleged actual bias or a reasonable apprehension of bias against St. Anne's IAP claimants, the lead moving party personally, and her former counsel.

The court reviewed the history of the proceedings, including numerous prior orders compelling document production from the respondent, and found no evidence of conscious or unconscious bias.

The court concluded that a reasonable and informed person would not apprehend bias, and dismissed the recusal motion with costs.

The parties in three related class actions regarding administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries sought court approval for a revised Distribution and Individual Issues Protocol, notices, and forms.

The courts approved the documents but revised the proposed opt-out procedure to ensure that all putative class members detained in administrative segregation after December 12, 2016, who had not previously had an opportunity to opt out, were granted a first-time opportunity to do so.

The plaintiffs sought to certify a $1.1 billion class action against Ford Motor Co. alleging that certain vehicles contained a defective internal water pump that could cause catastrophic engine failure.

The court analyzed the claims under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

Applying the Supreme Court's decision in Maple Leaf Foods, the court struck the claims for pure economic loss for class members whose water pumps had not yet failed, finding no imminent danger.

The court also refused to certify the breach of contract, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment claims.

The court certified the action solely for design negligence for class members who actually experienced a water pump failure resulting in property damage or personal injury.

In a proposed class action regarding allegedly defective water pumps in Ford vehicles, the defendants brought a preliminary motion to strike portions of an affidavit filed by the plaintiffs' proposed class counsel.

The affidavit attached unverified online complaints from a U.S. database.

The court granted the motion to strike, finding that the complaints were inadmissible hearsay and that their prejudicial effect outweighed any minimal probative value they might have had for imputing knowledge of the defect to the defendants.

The plaintiffs in a proposed class action regarding a data breach sought court approval to settle and discontinue their claims against the defendant GitHub.

GitHub, an American corporation, had challenged the court's jurisdiction.

After an initial adjournment to address jurisdictional concerns, the plaintiffs submitted revised materials.

The court approved the settlement, finding that discontinuing the action against GitHub was fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class given the litigation risks, costs, and the fact that the remaining defendants had sufficient financial strength to meet any damages.