The Litigator - Affleck Greene McMurtry, LLP » Class Actions and Other Private Actions

Canadian Plaintiffs Acheive a Breakthrough in Certifying Price Fixing Class Actions

Michael Osborne — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:21:15 +0000

Courts in two Canadian cases have recently made it easier to certify direct and indirect-purchaser class actions seeking damages for alleged price fixing. Formerly, the difficulty of proving damages suffered by indirect purchasers on a class-wide basis was a major impediment…

The IMAX Case: Superior Court certifies first-ever Ontario shareholder class action for misrepresentations on the secondary market

David N. Vaillancourt — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:29:36 +0000

In a pair of decisions released the same day, Justice Katherine van Rensburg of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice became the first judge to consider the statutory remedy created under section 138.3 of the Ontario Securities Act (the “Act”) for shareholders of public companies who suffer damages from public company misrepresentations on the secondary securities market in documents such as annual financial statements and other public documents.

Complex Distribution Chain Kills DRAM Class Action – Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG

Michael Osborne — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:32:02 +0000

A proposed class action by purchasers of electronic goods containing DRAM memory chips would degenerate into a series of individual trials, the British Columbia Supreme Court has held in Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG.2 Key issues, including whether the plaintiffs paid more because of price-fixing by manufacturers of the chips, could not be determined on a class-wide basis. The court thus refused to certify the action as a class proceeding.

Class action attacks “economic effect” of DuPont’s prices

Michael Osborne — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:11:42 +0000

Canada’s first class action alleging vertical price maintenance may have far reaching consequences for Canadian manufacturers and distributors.

AGO contributes to ABA handbook

Michael Osborne — Tue, 15 May 2007 02:11:31 +0000

Many Canadian class actions alleging price fixing conspiracies are run parallel to similar US class actions. As a result, this handbook will be useful to Canadian lawyers seeking to understand how the US class action system deals with issues surrounding indirect purchasers.

Passing-on no defence; unlawfully collected taxes must be refunded, Supreme Court rules

Michael Osborne — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:31:49 +0000

Governments must refund money they collect through unconstitutional taxes, and cannot rely on the so-called ""passing-on"" defence to avoid repayment, the Supreme Court ruled in January 2007.The court's rejection of the passing-on defence may have major implications in private litigation, particularly competition (antitrust) cases.

Restitution or windfall?

Michael Osborne — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 01:15:55 +0000

Can consumers who obtain a defective product for free recover profits earned by the manufacturer, even though those consumers suffer no damages whatsoever? Most non-lawyers would likely say: no. However, the Ontario Divisional Court recently affirmed a decision certifying a class action against Johnson & Johnson that raises this question.

Synthetic rubber and polyester staple class actions settle

Michael Osborne — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 20:41:19 +0000

Settlements have been reached in two class actions alleging price fixing in the market for two kinds of synthetic rubber as well as polyester staple.