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ARTICLE · 15 DECEMBER 2014

Competition Act Tort Claims Still Viable: Fairhurst v Anglo American PLC

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Can indirect purchasers claim damages in tort for breaches of the Competition Act? This was one of the issues before the British Columbia Supreme Court in Fairhurst v Anglo American PLC.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
William Bortolin
William Bortolin
Emrys Davis
Emrys Davis
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Can indirect purchasers claim damages in tort for breaches of the Competition Act? This was one of the issues before the British Columbia Supreme Court in Fairhurst v Anglo American PLC, 2014 BCSC 2270. Madam Justice Brown considered the law on this issue to be contradictory, and held that the claims based in tort were not "bound to fail". The claims were ultimately certified.

This outcome is somewhat surprising, given the British Columbia Court of Appeal's decision in Wakelam v Wyeth Consumer Healthcare/Wyeth Soins de Sante Inc, 2014 BCCA 36, from earlier this year. The Court of Appeal held that the Competition Act comprehensively codifies the remedies available for a breach of the Act, and therefore that it is not possible to claim equitable remedies (such as restitution) based solely upon a breach of the Act. The Court also suggested that breaches of the Competition Act would be incapable of supporting claims based in tort (as distinct from claims based on one of

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