Contribution And Causation: The IPEX Case

On April 19, 2016 the decision in IPEX Inc. v. AT Plastics et al. ("IPEX") was released.¹ As succinctly summarized by Justice Belobaba, the case addressed the intersection of two lines of authority, namely that which permits a defendant who settles a class action to seek recovery from other non-settling parties, and the axiom that causation must be proven in order to establish liability. While neither proposition was truly controverted by the parties, it was held to be premature to decide causation on the basis of summary judgment rather than at trial.

IPEX manufactured a composite pipe called Kitec that was used in plumbing and heating in thousands of residential and commercial premises across North America. Kitec itself was composed of five layers of various plastics and adhesives; AT Plastics and Lubrizol Advanced Materials supplied roughly 80% of the resin for an inner layer.