30 | LEXPERT • December 2014 | www.lexpert.ca
INTERNATIONAL CLASS ACTIONS
A KEY BATTLE is
currently being waged over when, or if, Canadian courts will take juris-
diction over class actions asserted on behalf of foreign-domiciled class members. The issue is
one of substantial importance both to businesses that operate on a multi-jurisdictional basis,
as well as to Canadian class counsel and their potential clients. While the corporate commu-
nity has been justifiably anxious that Canada might become the next "Shangri-La" for class
proceedings brought by non-residents and against foreign corporations; recent rulings from the
Court of Appeal for Ontario (Canada's largest province) suggest that the courts are unwilling
to have the Ontario judicial system fill the void that was left following the Supreme Court of
the United States' 2010 ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, 561 US 247 (2010).
Morrison dramatically changed the litigation landscape in the US by shutting the US borders
to "F
3
" class actions. Particularly, in Morrison SCOTUS ruled that US courts do not have
jurisdiction over claims brought by foreign investors who purchased shares of a foreign issuer
on a foreign exchange. No longer can investors from outside the US forum shop to pursue a
class action against a foreign issuer in an American court, even if there is no class-action regime
or other reasonably accessible means of pursuing a complaint of securities fraud in their home
jurisdiction. Practically speaking, Morrison meant that enterprising US class counsel would
no longer be able to launch actions on their home turf if the target issuer was not carrying on
business in the US or listed on an American exchange.
As in any area where the law is still developing, the trend towards certification of interna-
tional classes, and the more recent trend towards limitations on international classes has been
ONTARIO'S
COURTS TRENDING
TOWARD LIMITING
INTERNATIONAL
CLASS ACTIONS
Courts appear unwilling to have the Ontario
judicial system fi ll the void created following
the Supreme Court of the United States'
2010 ruling in Morrison
BY MARGARET L. WADDELL,
PALIARE ROLAND ROSENBERG ROTHSTEIN LLP
