Canada: Class Actions

The Ontario Divisional Court has upheld a lower court's decision denying class certification in a data privacy case against Facebook, establishing important boundaries for when disgorgement remedies can be pursued in breach of contract claims. The ruling addresses whether plaintiffs can strategically elect disgorgement to avoid proving compensable loss, and reinforces fundamental prerequisites for class action certification.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has weighed in on a longstanding debate in class action law: whether the commonality test should be characterized as a one-step or two-step analysis. In two recent opioid-related cases, the court clarified the evidentiary standard plaintiffs must meet when establishing that proposed common issues exist and can be resolved on a class-wide basis. The decisions emphasize a functional, pragmatic approach that focuses on whether certification will avoid duplication of litigat

Canada's Supreme Court has formally recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence, acknowledging that coercive control and patterns of abuse within relationships constitute legally actionable harm.