Ruling Expands Funding Options For Class Actions Justice Ministry Announces Judicial Changes LGBTQ Event Law Times Poll
RULING EXPANDS FUNDING OPTIONS FOR CLASS ACTIONS
Australia-based company IMF Bentham Ltd. will not be required to post security for costs as part of a litigation funding agreement.
The case involved allegations that several bakeries and grocery stores, including Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Wal-Mart Canada Corp., conspired to defraud Canadian consumers with respect to the price of packaged bread. Since Australia has a similar legal system to Ontario, “there should be no problem seeking enforcement of an Ontario court order in the Australian courts,” Justice Edward Morgan wrote in the decision, David v. Loblaw, 2018 ONSC 6469, released on Oct. 29.
Jay Strosberg, a partner at Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP, who represented one of the plaintiffs, says the decision could mean that other private funders will feel more comfortable funding cases.
“Particularly in antitrust class actions, they are capital intensive from the plaintiff’s perspective,” says Strosberg.
JUSTICE MINISTRY ANNOUNCES JUDICIAL CHANGES
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould named four new judges in Brampton, Ont. in an announcement on Nov. 2.
James Stribopoulos, a judge at the Ontario Court of Justice and former associate dean at Osgoode Hall Law School, was elevated to a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the announcement said.
Michael Doi, a legal director at the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, will be a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Doi is a former military lawyer and has served as president of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. The announcement also said sole practitioner Erika Chozik, who previously practised as a Crown counsel and a defence lawyer, will be a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice also announced a new judicial appointment in Toronto.
Susanne Boucher, who was appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Boucher, a chief federal prosecutor from 2016 to 2018, was previously a council member for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.
LGBTQ EVENT
Wildfire LGBT, which focuses on LGBTQ members of the Canadian legal community, will host a fundraiser on Nov. 29 for Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit organization. The event will be at Toronto bar and restaurant Pollyanna, located at 1054 Gerrard Street East, from six to 11 p.m. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased online. More information is available by emailing [email protected].
LAW TIMES POLL
An open letter, signed by a group of alumni and students, calls on the University of Toronto to cap law school tuition at $40,000 per year, saying high fees are hurting students. Law Times asked readers if they agreed with the protest over fees.
The majority, 86 per cent, said they agreed with the protest, responding that high tuition fees are inhibiting the long-term development of students. Fourteen per cent said, however, that they disagreed with the protest.
