Canada has moved toward more liberal allowance of class-action litigation in recent years; it has also, like most non-U.S. countries, chosen to retain its historic principle of “loser-pays”, or “costs follow the event”, fee shifting. What happens when prevailing defendants seek an award of costs against losing class plaintiffs, assuming that the individual class members cannot be reached for the purposes of assessing costs? In a bitterly fought lawsuit over unclaimed veterans’ pension accounts, the federal government in Ottawa went after three class lawyers for C$4 million in costs out of their own pockets. The Ontario Court of Appeal denied its petition, but the lawyers say they feel chilled from organizing more such suits. In all, the federal government spent an estimated C$6 million in legal fees and C$10 million in other costs successfully defending the pension suit. (Randy Richmond, “Ottawa claimed denying justice”, London Free Press, Sept. 20). Earlier London Free Press reports by Randy Richmond on underlying lawsuit: “One Last Battle: Dark Politics”, Oct. 30, 2006; “An ugly fight for veterans’ benefits”, Oct. 31.
Canada: class action plaintiff’s lawyers on the hook?
Canada has moved toward more liberal allowance of class-action litigation in recent years; it has also, like most non-U.S. countries, chosen to retain its historic principle of “loser-pays”, or “costs follow the event”, fee shifting. What happens when prevailing defendants seek an award of costs against losing class plaintiffs, assuming that the individual class members […]
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