In the coming months, the Canadian military will be forced to fight on a wholly new front: the home front. In late November, a notice of action was filed against the Canadian military on behalf of past members of the military. Although details of the specific allegations will not be released until later in their […]
Introduction and Background In most Canadian jurisdictions, a class action cannot proceed without a certification. The story of Endean v British Columbia, 2016 SCC 42 [Endean] begins with the superior courts of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec certifying concurrent class actions on behalf of persons infected with Hepatitis C through the Canadian blood supply. These […]
It’s not often that nation-wide securities judgments are issued in Canada. Securities regulation in Canada is polycentric in nature, such that each province is governed by its own legislation and securities commission. The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decision of Theratechnologies Inc. v 121851 Canada Inc., 2015 SCC 18, [Thera] is interesting because – although […]
In a decision released on October 17, 2014, Imperial Oil v Jacques, 2014 SCC 66 [Imperial Oil v Jacques], a majority of the Supreme Court Court ("SCC") upheld a Quebec motion court's ruling that allowed plaintiffs in a class action to access relevant government surveillance materials during civil discovery proceedings. The class action arose after an investigation of […]
On September 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its decision in Bank of Montreal v Marcotte, 2014 SCC 55 [BMO v Marcotte], and its two companion cases, Amex Bank of Canada v Adams, 2014 SCC 56, and Marcotte v Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec, 2014 SCC 57. The case in BMO v Marcotte was based […]
In early August, the Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in Good v Toronto Police Services Board, 2014 ONSC 4583. These proceedings relate to the G20 summit that was held in Toronto in June of 2010. The summit brought world leaders to the city, but also attracted a number of groups conducting demonstrations, some of […]
On 24 February 2014, the Ontario Divisional Court allowed the certification of a class action on the basis that the need to ensure that the plaintiffs received access to justice outweighed the difficulties that their many individual issues could produce for a trial: Cavanaugh v Grenville Christian College, 2014 ONSC 290 [Cavanaugh]. This case is […]
Sabina Mexis 9.2720 Normal 0 The final act in an eleven year long class proceeding has concluded with Smith v Inco Ltd, 2013 ONCA 724. The defendant Inco had successfully defended itself against the claim for damages in the class action. Here, it sought to recover legal costs of over $5 million. Inco was awarded a still […]
Last Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Halliburton Co v Erica P. John Fund, thereby revisiting the contentious “fraud-on-the-market” principle adopted in the 1988 case of Basic Inc v Levinson, 485 US 224 (1988). The principle works as follows: open and developed securities markets are efficient and all relevant information about […]
Lillian Schelew and her four sons, Jeffrey, Michael, Bernard, and Alan, have been involved in residential real estate leasing since the 1970s. Jamb Enterprises Ltd ("Jamb") was owned by the four brothers equally, and Bram Enterprises Ltd ("Bram") was owned by four brothers equally with Lillian Schelew holding a separate class of preferred voting shares. […]