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ARTICLE · 14 OCTOBER 2011

Court Overturns C$36-Million Damages Award in Environmental Class Action

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In a unanimous judgment, the Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a decision which had awarded members of an environmental class action C$36-million against Inco Limited (now Vale) for contamination arising from authorized historic industrial activity.

CanadaEnvironment
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Jonathan Kahn
Jonathan Kahn
James Sullivan
James Sullivan
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Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Environmental/Class Actions, October 2011

Introduction

In a unanimous judgment, the Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a decision which had awarded members of an environmental class action C$36-million against Inco Limited (now Vale) for contamination arising from authorized historic industrial activity.

The Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Smith v. Inco Limited, released on Friday, October 7, 2011, clarifies the legal requirements for claims of nuisance and strict liability, and the appropriate method of analysis for a limitation period for a class of plaintiffs.

This judgment is particularly noteworthy given that Smith v. Inco Limited was one of the first class actions in Canada to go to a full common-issues trial.

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