Court of Appeal Upholds First Aggregate Assessment of Damages in Ramdath v. George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology January 18, 2016 Alan Melamud, Podrebarac Barristers Professional Corporation The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the trial judge setting out the criteria for, and awarding aggregate damages to class members damaged as a result of misrepresentations in a college course calendar that was found to be in breach of the Consumer Protection Act.
Jurisdiction in Class Actions: Certification of a global class January 06, 2016 Erik Penz , Jonathan Preece and Guy White Three recent class action decisions in Ontario have considered when it is appropriate to extend the class—and consequently the jurisdiction of the Ontario court—to include persons who are not resident in Canada. The court in each of these decisions has focused on the question of where non-resident putative class members would reasonably expect their claims to be adjudicated.
All Shapes and Sizes: Federal Court Certifies Novel Privacy Class Action October 13, 2015 Sandeep Joshi The novel breach of privacy causes of action, intrusion upon seclusion, and publicity given to private life have been found to be certifiable as class proceedings by the Federal Court of Canada.
Preliminary Matters: Appellate Court Upholds Forum Selection Clause and Stays Proposed Privacy Class Action June 30, 2015 Sandeep Joshi BCCA finds that forum selection clause in Facebook user agreement trumps exclusive jurisdiction term in BC Privacy Act.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Certification Denied in Product Liability Class Action Implicating 19 Products June 22, 2015 Sandeep Joshi Certification denied when multiple medical products treating multiple symptoms with multiple complaints not suitable for certification. Leave to focus on one device granted.
Access to Justice a Key Concern in Certification Decisions May 05, 2015 Larry Thacker Applying the AIC decision, access to justice remains a key factor for the court deciding certification.
The Conceptual Core: Ontario Court of Appeal Reaffirms Recasting a Certification Motion on an Appeal May 04, 2015 Sandeep Joshi The Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the ability of class counsel to recast its failed certification arguments on appeal, so long as the "conceptual core" of the case remains consistent.
Proving Class-Wide Causation – The New Certification Battleground? April 02, 2015 Sandeep Joshi The BCCA has confirmed that if causation is to be certified as a common issue, the plaintiff must adduce evidence that there is a plausible and credible methodology for establishing causation on a class-wide basis.
Ontario Court of Appeal Allows Privacy Class Action to Proceed February 26, 2015 Rahool Agarwal The OCA has determined that the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) is not a “complete code” and therefore did not “oust” the plaintiff’s common law tort claim for breach of privacy (the tort of intrusion upon seclusion).
When is a Misclassification Case Not a Misclassification Case?: Baroch v. Canada Cartage February 06, 2015 Ian Matthews Belobaba J. certifies an overtime class action framed as a systemic policy or practice of avoiding its obligation to pay overtime.