B.C. Court Denies Certification Of Class Action Arising From Multi-Jurisdictional Antitrust Case

On May 7, 2008 the B.C. Supreme Court released its decision in Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG. This decision is particularly significant for the antitrust bar in the United States and Canada, since it represents the first instance where the courts have considered and denied the certification of a class action in Canada arising from a multi-jurisdictional antitrust case.

Canadian courts have certified antitrust class actions in a number of cases to implement a settlement (i.e., in the vitamins cartel case). However, there have only been a handful of cases where the courts have considered the merits of certifying an antitrust class action on a contested basis, given the strict requirements of provincial class proceedings legislation. Moreover, the decision in Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG (Pro-Sys) appears to be the first case where the court considered