On September 24, 2021, Justice Belobaba released the first decision to interpret and apply s. 4.1 of the CPA. The decision in Dufault v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Canada Trust Company, 2021 ONSC 6223 (“Dufault”) has significant implications for the conduct of class proceedings moving forward. It makes clear that defendants now have a presumptive right to have a potentially dispositive motion, or a motion that may narrow the issues or evidence in a proposed class proceeding, heard before certification. The court ordered that TD’s summary judgment motion would be heard first and before certification.
Background
Class Proceeding Amendments
On October 1, 2020, amendments to the Ontario Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (“CPA”) came into force. The amendments introduced a new provision for the early resolution of issues – s. 4.1 – which provides as follows:
4.1 If, before the hearing of the motion for certification, a motion is made under the rules of court that may dispose of the proceeding in whole or in part, or narrow the issues to be determined or the evidence to be adduced in the proceeding, that motion shall be heard and disposed of before the motion for certification, unless the court orders that the two motions be heard together.
Please log in to read the full article.