Rebecca von Rüti

The plaintiff brought a proposed class action against numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors regarding the marketing and sale of opioids in Canada.

The defendants moved to strike the statement of claim for failing to disclose a reasonable cause of action, and one defendant, Pro Doc Limitée, moved to dismiss the action against it for lack of jurisdiction.

The court granted Pro Doc's jurisdiction motion, finding no real and substantial connection to Ontario.

The court struck the claims against the distributor defendants without leave to amend, finding no viable cause of action.

The court found that while there were viable causes of action against the manufacturer defendants for breach of the Competition Act, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and failure to warn, the plaintiff's pleading was defective.

The court struck the claims against the manufacturer defendants with leave to amend to join representative plaintiffs for each defendant group and to comply with the rules of pleading.

The defendants in a proposed opioid class action moved to dismiss the proceeding for delay under s. 29.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

In response, the plaintiff brought a cross-motion for a nunc pro tunc timetable order and commenced parallel proceedings in Manitoba.

The parties reached a settlement wherein the competing motions were dismissed without costs, the Manitoba proceedings would be discontinued, and the Ontario action would be deemed commenced on October 2, 2020, making it subject to the amended certification test under the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, 2020.

The court approved the settlement and issued the consent orders.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for approval of a $266,000 settlement in a securities class action, along with approval of class counsel fees and a representative plaintiff honorarium.

The court approved the settlement, noting that the net funds would be distributed cy-près to the Class Action Clinic at the University of Windsor because administration costs would exceed available funds.

The court also approved a $10,000 honorarium for the representative plaintiff and $146,000 in fees and disbursements for class counsel.

The plaintiffs brought a consent motion for leave to proceed under the Securities Act and for certification of a class action for settlement purposes.

The action alleged secondary market misrepresentations by the defendants regarding a pharmaceutical product.

The court found the criteria for leave to proceed and certification were met, approved the class definition and common issues for settlement purposes, and approved the proposed notices to class members.