Ontario Court Certifies Price-Fixing Class Action

Copyright 2009, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, October 2009

On September 28, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released an important decision certifying a class proceeding on behalf of both direct and indirect purchasers of hydrogen peroxide in an alleged price-fixing conspiracy. This is the first case in which a Canadian court has certified a contested class action involving indirect purchasers.

Why This Case Is Important:

• The case departs from decisions by other Canadian courts (e.g. Chada v. Bayer; Pro-Sys Consultant v. Infineon ("DRAM")), which have held that plaintiffs in an indirect purchaser case must put forward a workable methodology to demonstrate harm on a class wide basis. The court here was not prepared to look closely at the evidence of the competing experts on the issue of establishing class wide harm. The court ruled that at the certification stage it