• About
  • Offices
  • Careers
  • Students
  • Alumni
Background Image
Logo Bennett Jones
  • People
  • Expertise
  • Resources
  • Search
  • Menu
  • Search Mobile
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z All

FEATURED AREAS

Energy
Funds & Finance
Mining
Capital Projects
All Industries
Crisis & Risk Management
Environmental, Social & Governance
Governmental Affairs & Public Policy
All Practices
Insights
Media
Events
Subscribe
COVID-19 Resource Centre
Business Law Talks Podcast
Kickstart
New Energy Economy Series
People
Featured Areas
All Practices
All Industries
About
Offices
Careers
Insights
Events
Search
Search
 
Blog

Canadian Court Certifies Visa/Mastercard Class Action Critical Takeaways

March 28, 2014

Written by Emrys Davis

Yesterday, Chief Justice Bauman released public reasons certifying the Visa/MasterCard price-fixing class actions. Our full update on his decision is available here. But the critical takeaways from his decision are as follows:
  1. Plaintiffs can't link non-statutory claims (like tort and restitutionary claims) to breaches of the Competition Act. When the Competition Act makes conduct, such as price-fixing, unlawful, plaintiffs may only pursue remedies for that unlawful conduct under the statutory cause of action in the Competition Act. They cannot also argue that those unlawful acts found causes of action for parasitic tort claims like unlawful means conspiracy, unjust enrichment and waiver of tort.
  2. Minimal scrutiny of expert evidence does not mean no scrutiny. Rather, certification judges may consider evidence from defendants' experts and evaluate whether they have exposed any fatal flaws in the plaintiff's expert evidence that have gone unanswered. But so long as plaintiff's expert answers those criticisms, plaintiffs will likely meet the "some basis in fact" test for commonality of loss-based issues.
  3. This decision continues the trend in which the courts appear determined to lower the bar to certification, avoid any assessment of the merits at the certification stage, and push class actions toward a determination on the merits. As a result, tenuous claims may face more motions for summary judgment on the heels of certification.

Author

  • Emrys  Davis Emrys Davis, Partner

Read the New Energy Economy Series

Related Links

  • Insights
  • Media
  • Subscribe

Recent Posts

Blog

Recent Amendments to the British Columbia Health, [...]

April 14, 2021
       

Blog

Important Changes to the Alberta Business Corporations Act Now in Effect

April 13, 2021
       

Blog

Prompt Payment Legislation in Alberta: More Changes and Clarifications

April 13, 2021
       

Blog

Yukon Zinc: Reining in the Ability to Disclaim Contracts [...]

April 09, 2021
       

Blog

Canada Imposes New Sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian [...]

April 05, 2021
       

The firm that businesses trust with their most complex legal matters.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use

© Bennett Jones LLP 2021. All rights reserved. Bennett Jones refers collectively to the Canadian legal practice of Bennett Jones LLP and the international legal practices and consulting activities of various entities which are associated with Bennett Jones LLP

Logo Bennett Jones