Rabita Sharfuddin

The court approved a $30 million settlement in a class action brought by shareholders of Aphria Inc. against the company and two of its officers, alleging misrepresentations in public disclosures about major business acquisitions.

The settlement was reached on the eve of trial after extensive discovery and negotiation, with the court finding the terms fair and reasonable given the risks of trial and potential insolvency proceedings.

The court also approved class counsel fees, disbursements, a levy to the Class Proceedings Fund, and an honorarium for the representative plaintiff.

The court approved a Notice Plan for a proposed settlement in a certified class action between Vecchio Longo Consulting Services Inc. and Aphria Inc. et al.

The Notice Plan, developed by class counsel and to be administered by RicePoint Administration Inc., was found to be fair, reasonable, and effective in providing adequate notice to class members regarding the settlement approval hearing and related matters.

The court confirmed that the plan met the requirements of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, and ordered that the Notice Plan proceed as proposed.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's action by summary judgment, the successful defendants sought costs on a substantial or full indemnity basis.

The plaintiff had alleged that the defendants conspired to conceal noise from idling trains and made fraudulent misrepresentations regarding a commercial sublease.

The court held that the plaintiff's unproven allegations of fraud and dishonesty justified an award of substantial indemnity costs.

Applying the overriding principle of reasonableness, the court awarded costs of $66,521.61 to the defendant real estate broker and $198,000 to the defendant accounting firm.

The plaintiff sublessee brought an action against the defendant sublessor and its real estate broker, alleging they fraudulently concealed a latent defect regarding excessive noise from idling trains at the adjacent Union Station.

The defendants brought motions for summary judgment to dismiss the action.

The court granted the motions, finding that the train noise was a patent defect, not a latent one, and there was no evidence of a conspiracy to conceal it.

Furthermore, the plaintiff had acknowledged the proximity to the train station and agreed to an exculpatory clause in the lease that shielded the defendants from liability for train noise.

The court awarded full indemnity costs against the plaintiffs after dismissing their claims, which were found to be statute-barred, subject to res judicata and issue estoppel, abuses of process, and collateral attacks.

The claims were deemed devoid of merit and repetitive of earlier unsuccessful actions.

The court emphasized that the claims should never have been brought, especially for a third time, and that the plaintiffs' conduct, including unsubstantiated allegations, delaying tactics, and unrealistic settlement offers, warranted the highest scale of costs.

The plaintiff, a minor student at a private school, sought a mandatory interlocutory injunction to compel the school to re-register him for the upcoming academic year.

The student's parents had failed to pay tuition arrears by the re-registration deadline, resulting in the school filling his spot.

After paying the arrears late, the parents argued the school breached its contract and an alleged oral agreement by refusing re-registration.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the plaintiff failed to establish a strong prima facie case of breach of contract or that the student would suffer irreparable harm if forced to attend a different school pending trial.

The applicant, Gregory Zentner, sought certification of a class action against GFA World and related entities, alleging fraud and misappropriation of charitable donations.

The defendants brought a cross-motion for summary judgment to dismiss the claim on limitation grounds.

The court dismissed Zentner's motion for certification, finding that the pleadings did not disclose a cause of action because the donations were unencumbered gifts, meaning donors did not suffer a compensable loss recoverable through civil action.

The court also found insufficient factual basis for common issues, particularly regarding reliance and causation.

However, the defendants' summary judgment motion was also dismissed, as there remained a genuine issue requiring a trial concerning when Zentner discovered, or reasonably ought to have discovered, the material facts of his claim for limitation purposes.