Class Actions

In Perdikaris v. Purdue Pharma, 2019 SKQB 281, the Chief Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench has ruled that a conflict of interest between Provincial Health Insurers (“PHIs”) and the Representative Plaintiffs and/or Class Members that emerges as the matter proceeds will not au…

Flooding is a major issue for many Canadians, often causing severe damage and consequent economic harm. The federal government has warned that extreme flooding is the new reality of climate change,[1] and the five most destructive floods in Canadian history have all occurred since 2010.[2]  …

On October 17, 2019 the Court of Appeal of Ontario released its decision in Bancroft-Snell v. Visa Canada Corporation, 2019 ONCA 822. The Court of Appeal’s unanimous five-judge panel decision confirmed individual class members have no right to appeal settlement approval orders even where the…

In a recent carriage decision, Winder v Marriott, 2019 ONSC 5766 (“Winder”), Siskinds LLP was appointed as Class Counsel of a national class proceeding out of Ontario against Marriott International, Inc., Luxury Hotels International of Canada, ULC, and Starwood Canada ULC on behalf of all Ca…

This has been the year of cannabis market sector scandals. Headlines have been thick and fast. Investor losses have been significant. A large part of the financing that facilitated the massive growth of the cannabis sector has been through the prospectus exempt issuance of securities (more c…

In Cappelli v Nobilis Health Corp.[1] (“Cappelli”), Justice Perell, for purposes of a leave motion under Part XXIII.1 of Ontario’s Securities Act (“OSA”), considered the evidentiary value of an issuer’s public disclosure that it was restating previous financials and had control weaknesses. H…

On September 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision in Godfrey v Sony Corp., a class action related to alleged price-fixing in the market for optical disc drives (“ODDs”). The decision provides clarity on four significant issues in price-fixing litigation. The Co…

Removing straitjackets, and widening the potential scope of parent company liability for a subsidiary’s actions Can the parent company of a multinational group owe a duty of care to a third party for the actions of a foreign operating subsidiary? There remains no definitive answer at the tim…

On July 17, 2019, the Law Commission of Ontario (“LCO”) released its final report, Class Actions: Objectives, Experience and Reforms. The LCO report makes 47 recommendations to reform Ontario’s Class Proceeding Act (“CPA”) and related policies. One major theme of the report is that the speed…