Articles 2021

This article considers the incidence and implications of potential fraudulent activity in class actions claims processes.

This article compares and contrasts two recent decisions in Federal Court fee approval motions pertaining to mega settlements.

This article summarizes Palmer v. Teva Canada Inc., 2024 ONCA 220, in which the Ontario Court of Appeal reaffirmed that the need to plead and prove concrete injury remains an “essential component to recovery” in negligence and that product liability claims cannot generally be sustained based solely on: (a) the potential increased risk of future harm; (b) bare allegations of psychological harm; and/or (c) pure economic losses, such as out-of-pocket costs for medical services and monitoring.

This article summarizes Lochan v. Binance Holdings Limited, 2024 ONSC 2302, in which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted certification of the first Canadian class action against a cryptocurrency platform for the illegal trading and distribution of securities.

This case comment reviews a motion to strike in a product liability matter that concludes claims for statutory warranties require privity of contract, and claims in negligence require compensable damages to person or property, or real and substantial danger.

This article summarizes Underhill v. Medtronic Canada, 2023 ONSC 5919, in which the Superior Court adjourned the representative plaintiffs’ motion to discontinue the proposed class action, but utilized multijurisdictional class action protocols to address multijurisdictional sequencing issues raised by the defendants.

In the recent decision of Grozelle v. Corby Spirit and Wine Limited, 2023 ONSC 7212, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has affirmed the impact of the CPA amendments to the preferability criteria as imposing a stricter, more rigorous test for certification, as was first stated by the Court in Banman v. Ontario, 2023 ONSC 6187. The decision in Corby is also the first time the amended preferable procedure criterion has not been met.

This case comment of Cameron-Gardos v. Crawford and Company (Canada) Inc., 2024 ONSC 700, considers the test for seeking leave to sue a class action administrator in the context of a class action settlement agreement.

This article reviews a decision declining to strike claims in a databreach class action, including claims based on risk of future harm and pure economic loss.

On January 31, 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld Justice Perell’s decision in Del Giudice v. Thompson, 2024 ONCA 70, maintaining the stringent approach established in recent years for “hacker” data breach cases.