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
The Ontario Superior Court recently emphasized the need, in a negligent design claim, for evidence on the product from a qualified design expert, even in the context of a certification motion....more
Early 2022 decisions interpreting Ontario’s new mandatory dismissal for delay regime were glad tidings for defendants, suggesting the regime would be strictly applied. However, over the course of 2022, the pendulum swung in...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
In January 2022, Justice Belobaba (one of four judges on the Toronto Class Actions List) dismissed an action for delay under section 29.1 of Ontario’s Class Proceedings Act, 1992. Justice Belobaba’s decision in Bourque v...more
Nearly 2 years after the launch of more than 30 proposed class actions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic upended the Canadian class action landscape, pandemic-related class actions risk, and ongoing litigation appear to have...more
In November 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in 1688782 Ontario Inc. v Maple Leaf Foods Inc. This is an important decision clarifying the analytical approach to the duty of care analysis in negligence...more
Instability and uncertainty were the two constants in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic uprooted social norms and challenged businesses. The long range impact of that instability and uncertainty remains to be seen. For different...more
On October 30, 2020, a six-judge majority of the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed, in Asselin v Desjardins Cabinet de services financiers inc, 2020 SCC 30, that a class action concerning allegedly misleading investment...more
On December 20, 2018, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in the Rana Plaza Class Action (Das v George Weston Limited, 2018 ONCA 1053) affirming the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s decision to dismiss the...more
12/24/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bangladesh ,
Canada ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Claims Limitations Period ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Care ,
Manufacturers ,
Negligence ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Workplace Injury
Companies in Canada or doing business with Canadians beware. The Ontario Court of Appeal has held that Ontario courts can take jurisdiction in class actions over plaintiffs who are not Canadian, do not live or work here, and...more
On July 5, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a 129-page decision in the Rana Plaza class action (Das v George Weston Limited, 2017 ONSC 4129), a proposed class action brought in Ontario on behalf of...more
Non-Canadian companies: welcome to the Canadian class action party. In recent years, Canadians have increasingly begun to recognize and actively manage the major business risk posed by class actions, as more and more...more
On August 26, 2015, Justice Leitch held that the Ontario court does not have jurisdiction over foreign class members in Airia Brands Inc v Air Canada. Counsel on both sides of the class action bar should take note. For...more
On December 12, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its fourth major class action decision in two months: AIC Limited et al v Dennis Fischer et al (Fischer). This case concerns whether a class action is the...more