OCA settles issue around third-party funding
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decision settled the issue of whether a judge’s order on a third-party funding agreement is final or interlocutory, says Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell. Read more
Decisions provide insight into competing class actions
Three recent decisions — one each from Quebec, Saskatchewan and Ontario — provide guidance about when one court may defer to another in competing class proceedings, Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell writes in The Lawyer’s Daily . Read more
Lean class action pleading hard to put into practice
Streamlining pleadings ahead of certification makes sense in theory, but is difficult in practice, says Toronto class-action litigator Brian Radnoff. Read more
Waddell launches lawsuit on behalf of 60,000 taxpayers
Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell of Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation and Landy Marr Kats LLP have launched a proposed $800-million class-action lawsuit against those alleged to be involved in a “sham” charitable donation scheme, says the National Post . Read more
Waddell to seek leave to appeal in proposed class action
The plaintiffs involved in a proposed class action that alleges negligence manufacture and a failure to warn of defective implantable cardiac defibrillators will request leave to appeal a recent court decision that denied approval of a third-party funding agreement, says their co-counsel, Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell . Read Law Times Read more
Ballet school, ex-teacher face lawsuit over alleged sale of intimate photos online
A class action lawsuit against a prominent ballet school and a former teacher, who is alleged to have taken intimate photos of students and offered them for sale online, has been launched on behalf of former students by Toronto lawyer Margaret Waddell a class-action lawyer and principal of Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation . Read Toronto Sun Law Times CBC Winnipeg Free Press Read more
Waddell launches new firm, Waddell Phillips Professional Corp.
Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell has opted to hang out her own shingle with the new firm, Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation , which will focus on cases with a strong human rights element, in addition to consumer protection, product liability and securities class actions. Read more
Class actions based on food recalls on the rise: Waddell
EDMONTON – A pair of Alberta-based law firms say they've filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of people who bought or consumed a popular brand of flour that's been linked to illnesses from E. coli. Read more
Ruling adds clarity to carriage disputes, but challenges remain
Although a recent appeal court ruling clarifies what's appropriate when it comes to fee agreements to settle carriage disputes in class actions, the decision puts plaintiffs' counsel in a difficult position, Toronto civil litigation and class-actions lawyer Brian Radnoff tells Law Times . Read more
Margaret Waddell moves practice to Phillips Gill LLP
Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell has moved her practice to Phillips Gill LLP where she is focusing on plaintiff-side class actions, as well as commercial litigation and mediation work. Read more
Class-action case management smoothed by top court judgment
Allowing judges to sit outside their own province will help smooth the complicated process of managing national class actions, says Toronto civil litigation and class-actions lawyer Brian Radnoff. Read more
Auditors’ liability remains indeterminate
By Margaret L. Waddell, Phillips Gill LLP . Whether an auditor owes a duty of care to the lenders of a company it audits remains an open question after the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) overturned the summary judgment decision of Justice Paul M. Perell in CIBC v. Deloitte & Touche , 2016 ONCA 922. On the summary judgment motion, Justice Perell dismissed the negligent misrepresentation claim brought by Philips Services Corp.’s lenders against the company’s auditor, Deloitte. He found that the auditors did not owe a duty of care to the lenders, finding that the spectre of indeterminate liability to an indeterminate class negated the prima facie duty of care that would otherwise exist, based upon the second stage of the Anns/Cooper test. Read more
OCA certifies class action against accounting firm, citing lower courts’ errors
After concluding that both the motion judge and the majority of the Divisional Court erred, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) has certified a class-action lawsuit against an accounting firm that involves international investors who lost money in an investment in a Chinese livestock company, says Toronto class-action lawyer Margaret Waddell . Read more
Decision challenging court-appointed monitor fees 'unusual'
A recent decision by a British Columbia court to question fees already paid to a court-appointed monitor is unusual, as judges are normally reluctant to overly scrutinize the accounts of these officials, Toronto commercial litigation and class-action lawyer Brian Radnoff tells Law Times . Read more
Supreme Court rules on securities class action limitations
By Brian Radnoff . In Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Green, 2015 SCC 60 ( Green ), the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled on the limitation periods for securities class actions regarding secondary market misrepresentation, an issue that had received inconsistent treatment at the Ontario Court of Appeal. Read more
