Torys Litigation bulletin quoted in article on proposed changes to Ontario’s class action regime

A Law Times article outlining proposed amendments to the Class Proceedings Act (CPA) by Ontario’s Attorney General has referenced a Torys bulletin on the topic.

The article highlights one of the most significant changes, which according to the bulletin written by Grant Worden, James Gotowiec and Patricia McMahon, is the ability to bring a motion to dismiss a “dormant” class proceeding.

The team’s piece noted that overall, many of the amendments “will be beneficial to defendants and potential defendants.”

“Other amendments, although not directly applicable to defendants, have the effect of restricting the options available to plaintiff counsel and thus of streamlining and potentially expediting the class proceedings process,” it says.

The change suggests that “a class proceeding is the preferable procedure ‘only if, at a minimum’ it is superior to all reasonably available means of determining the entitlement of the class to relief, and common questions of law or fact predominate over individual issues.

“This amendment runs contrary to the recommendations of the LCO, and substantially alters the preferable procedure test as most recently interpreted by the Supreme Court of Canada.”

Read more about the proposed changes in our bulletin “Game changer? Ontario introduces significant amendments to the Class Proceedings Act.”

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