Won Kim

In a certified class proceeding concerning allegedly defective hip implants, the court addressed issues relating to notice to class members and the identification of potential class members.

The court ordered the defendants to make reasonable efforts to locate names and addresses of implant class members contained in product adverse event reports and other related sources where the information was available and the province of residence was not British Columbia or Quebec.

However, the court declined to require an extensive manual internal review of all potential incident reports, finding such a requirement would be disproportionately burdensome and would not materially improve the notice program.

The court also determined the proper title for the certification notice and class counsel’s website, concluding that inclusion of the manufacturer’s name alongside the product identifier was reasonably necessary to inform the intended class.

The plaintiffs, former students of a post-graduate international business program, brought a class action against the defendant college.

The college's course calendar represented that the program provided the opportunity to complete three industry designations in addition to a graduate certificate.

The students discovered that the college had no agreements with the industry associations and could not confer the designations.

The court found that the college was negligent in making the misrepresentation and breached the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, as the students were 'consumers' under the Act.

The plaintiffs were entitled to monetary compensation, with damages to be determined in a subsequent phase.