Class Action Defence Class Action Defence

Don’t throw away your shot: BC court confirms parties can’t relitigate claims

When advancing a claim, litigants have only one shot, so they need to put their best foot forward. That is the takeaway from the British Columbia...

Court of Appeal provides guidance on aggregate damages for loss of chance

Can damages be awarded on a class-wide basis for a lost opportunity to negotiate a better deal? If so, how will courts quantify the aggregate damages...

Ontario Court says auditor is liable to “its client’s clients” for investment losses

In the recent decision of Lavender v. Miller Bernstein, Justice Belobaba writing for the Ontario Superior Court found an auditor liable for the...

Common issues not remotely common? Two appeals courts disagree

Hodge v. Neinstein is an interesting case that we have written about a number of times over the past few years. The action involves a representative...

Cy-près funds are not for individual class members’ benefit, finds Ontario Court

In cases where it is not possible or practical to give all of the money from a class action settlement directly to class members, or where funds are...

Ontario Court refuses to convert individual action into class proceeding

In its recent decision in Lou v London Life Insurance Company, 2017 ONSC 4188, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a motion to convert an...

Can counterclaims be certified as class actions?

Counterclaims are not often certified as class proceedings. But can they be? In Thorne v. College of the North Atlantic, a panel of three judges of...

$1 billion proposed class action in the U.S. ploughs ahead

Last week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit upheld a district court’s decision in Cooper v. Tokyo Electric Power to deny defendant Tokyo Electric Power...

Wellman v. TELUS: Ontario Court of Appeal clarifies the impact of arbitration clauses on class proceedings

In Wellman v. TELUS Communications Company, 2017 ONCA 433, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of an order denying a motion to partially...

Class counsel fees and other obstacles to class action settlements in Québec

In recent years, a considerable number of Québec class actions have been authorized (certified) for the sole purpose of approving a settlement. The...