The Ontario Court of Appeal has concluded that a client's influence over a service provider's processes does not establish an employment relationship between the client and the service provider's employees. The plaintiffs in...more
In Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance v Honda Canada, 2025 ONSC 2856, the Ontario Superior Court upheld an arbitral panel's conclusion that an umbrella insurance policy covered settled class counsel fees, but not...more
We begin with developments of national significance. First, we discuss the amendments to the Competition Act which, effective June 2025, could open the door to a novel quasi-class action scheme entitling private plaintiffs to...more
A plaintiff’s obligation to establish “some basis in fact” for a common issue is acknowledged as a low bar. Several Canadian appellate courts have, however, confirmed a “two-step test” as the standard analytical framework....more
Damage to a product resulting from a defect within the product constitutes presumptively unrecoverable pure economic loss. That is the conclusion of the Ontario Court of Appeal in North v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, 2025...more
Pugliese v Chartwell, 2024 ONSC 7146 (Chartwell) explores the limitations of notice provisions under class proceedings legislation. Justice Morgan refused to authorize a notice plan providing for direct notice to proposed...more
A national class action on behalf of multiple Canadian governments to recover opioid epidemic healthcare costs simplifies the aggregation, prosecution, and determination of claims that span geographic boundaries. That is what...more
12/16/2024
/ Canada ,
Controlled Substances ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Substance Abuse ,
Supreme Court of Canada
In Fehr v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2024 ONCA 847 (Fehr), the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the representative plaintiffs’ appeal seeking post-certification leave to amend their statement of claim and to...more
The Ontario Superior Court has held that claims made insurance policies issued to directors and officers upon a company filing for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, RSC 1985, c C-36 (the CCAA) could...more
12/4/2024
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Board of Directors ,
Canada ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Governance ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Ontario ,
Shareholders
In our 2024 edition of Looking Forward, we review notable class action developments from the past year and consider what recent trends in the law might tell us about what to expect in the years ahead....more
In Lilleyman v Bumble Bee Foods LLC, 2024 ONCA 606, the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed the motion judge’s dismissal of certification for a class action alleging price-fixing of canned tuna. The Court unanimously affirmed...more
What Canadian process is available for mass torts when a class action cannot be certified? That is one question addressed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Carcillo v Canadian Hockey League (Carcillo)....more
In Reddock v Attorney General of Canada, 2024 ONSC 3238, the Ontario Superior Court released a post-common issues trial decision regarding the additional damages, if any, five plaintiffs were entitled to as a result of the...more
Despite certifying the class action in Thompson-Marcial v Ticketmaster Canada LP on the basis of breach of contract, breach of legislation, conspiracy, negligence and unjust enrichment, the Ontario Superior Court declined to...more
Exclusion clauses are a common feature of agreements of purchase and sale and other commercial contracts. While often subject to negotiation, parties sometimes proceed with standard form exclusion clauses that may inject...more
In product liability class actions, general causation (i.e., a product's propensity to cause alleged injuries) is often a threshold issue to establish liability (if general causation cannot be established, no class member's...more
We begin with an update on a trilogy of privacy class actions appeals in which plaintiffs sought, unsuccessfully, to expand the tort of intrusion upon seclusion.
Next, we canvass the various approaches of Ontario courts...more
"Loot boxes" are mystery boxes in a video game that pay out prizes or other items for in-game use. Players can earn loot boxes, but often purchase them with real-world money. The loot obtained varies in value considerably....more
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released a trilogy of decisions (Winder v. Marriott International, Inc., 2022 ONCA 815; Obodo v. Trans Union of Canada, Inc., 2022 ONCA 814; Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2022 ONCA 813)...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released Pine Valley Enterprises Inc v Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc [Pine Valley], which reminds businesses that all sales of goods are subject to warranties and conditions under the Sale of...more
The Supreme Court of Canada winter term has begun. While the court will be hearing mostly criminal law matters, in January through March, it will consider four cases that may interest the business community or organizations...more
The Supreme Court of Canada Fall term begins now. While the court will be hearing mostly criminal law matters, in November, it will consider three cases that may interest the business community or organizations facing civil...more
While the effects of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in 1688782 Ontario Inc v Maple Leaf Foods Inc., 2020 SCC 35 [Maple Leaf], begin to reverberate in the decisions of lower courts, Justice Paul Perell's certification...more
In McCorquodale v RBC Global Asset Management Inc., 2021 BCSC 144, the British Columbia Supreme Court relied on the principle of consistency in case law in applying a low bar to certification in class proceedings. In doing...more
The Supreme Court of Canada heard one appeal in January and will hear seven more in February and March that may interest the business community or organizations facing civil litigation...more